LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


JHtmoir  of 

George  iLogan 

of  ^teuton 


TWO     HUNDRED    AND    FIFTY 
COPIES   PRINTED   FROM   TYPE 


MEI^ 


OF 


Br  <§eorgr  Copw  0!  ^teuton 


BHttfe  Jrrlerttoiu!  from 


EDITED    BY    THEIR    GREAT-GRANDDAUGHTER 

FRANCES  A.  LOGAN 

WITH    AK    INTRODUCTION    BY 

CHARLES  J.  ST1LL& 

JLi.VSTR  ATIONS     PROM     PHOToOKA?Hir     BV 

C  5.  BRADFORD 


VTAOOJ 

IC!  JiscfliO  yrl  JiBirioS    B  rnoi' 


PHILADELPHIA 

*onrte  of 

MDCCCXCIX 


LIBRARY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


DR.   GEORGE   LOGAN 
From  a  Portrait  by  Gilbert  Stuart 


MEMOIR 


OF 


Br.  (§eorge  Hogan  of  g>tenton 

A^P  ^*P  v— *^ 


BY    HIS   WIDOW 

DEBORAH   NORRIS   LOGAN 

Selection*  from  ftts  Corre^pontience 

EDITED    BY    THEIR    GREAT-GRANDDAUGHTER 

FRANCES  A.  LOGAN 

WITH    AN    INTRODUCTION    BY 

CHARLES  J.  STILLE 

ILLUSTRATIONS     FROM     PHOTOGRAPHS     BY 

C.  S.  BRADFORD 


PHILADELPHIA 

SMtoriral  J^octete  of 

MDCCCXCIX 


LIBRARY 

yNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORIjflA 


COPYRIGHT,  1899 

BY 
THE  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 


Printed  by 

.  B.  Lippincott  Company 
Philadelphia 


Contents 
*** 

PAGB 

INTRODUCTION /  ^  -      .        .        .        .        -9 

CHAPTER   I 
His  EARLY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION      _.    .    .-, 31 

CHAPTER   II 
RETURNS  HOME  AND  ESTABLISHES  HIMSELF  AT  STENTON  .        .        .42 

CHAPTER   III 
DR.  LOGAN'S  POLITICAL  VIEWS — HE  EMBARKS  ON  A  MISSION  TO  FRANCE    50 

CHAPTER  IV 
THE  RESULTS  OF  THE  MISSION  TO  FRANCE     .        .        .  >        .61 

CHAPTER  V 
DOMESTIC  CARES  AND  ANXIETY 72 

CHAPTER  VI 
GUESTS  AT  STENTON — DR.  LOGAN'S  RETURN        .        ,        .        .        .78 

CHAPTER  VII 
RECEPTION  BY  THE  GOVERNMENT — LOGAN  ACT — ADDRESSES        .        .     86 

CHAPTER  VIII 
RETURN  TO  PUBLIC  LIFE 94 

CHAPTER  IX 
ELECTION  AS  UNITED  STATES  SENATOR — THE  LOGAN  LAW  ENACTED  .    97 

CHAPTER  X 

His  RELATIONS  WITH  JEFFERSON'S  ADMINISTRATION   .        .        .        .104 

5 


Contenta 


CHAPTER   XI 

PAGE 

CORRESPONDENCE  WITH  JEFFERSON       •    ,    •»        -        .        .        ,        .109 

CHAPTER  XII 
DR.  LOGAN'S  PEACE  MISSION  TO  ENGLAND 115 

CHAPTER  XIII 
DR.  LOGAN'S  DEATH  AND  A  SKETCH  OF  HIS  CHARACTER  .        .        .120 

APPENDIX   I 
GENEALOGICAL  TABLE  OF  the  DESCENDANTS  OF  JAMES  LOGAN   .        .127 

APPENDIX   II 
LETTERS  FROM  DR.  LOGAN  TO  MESSRS.  MERLIN,  LEPEAUX,  AND  SCHIM- 

MELPENNINCK I2p 

APPENDIX   III 

CORRESPONDENCE  IN  REGARD  TO  JEFFERSON'S  OPINIONS  CONCERNING 
THE  WAR  OF  1812 135 

APPENDIX   IV 

THE  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  DICKINSON 145 

x. 

APPENDIX   V 
CORRESPONDENCE  BETWEEN  DR.  LOGAN  AND  MR.  MADISON         .        .  165 

APPENDIX  VI 

LETTERS  REFERRING  TO  DR.  LOGAN'S  EFFORTS  TO  AVOID  WAR  WITH 
ENGLAND        .        .        „;       %;       . 175 

APPENDIX  VII 

COPIES  OF  THREE  LETTERS  FROM  COLONEL  TIMOTHY  PICKERING  TO 
DR.  GEORGE  LOGAN      .        .        .        .        .       >        .        .        .189 


UUustratfons 


PAGB 

DR.  GEORGE  LOGAN    .         .  .     "  .        .         .       Frontispiece. 

From  a  portrait  by  Gilbert  Stuart. 

STENTON.    FRONT  VIEW      .  .40 

Built  1728. 

STENTON.     DOORWAY 83 

STENTON.     BACK  VIEW 98 

SONNET.    BY  MRS.  LOGAN 114 

Fac-simile. 

DEBORAH  NORRIS  LOGAN    .  122 


Untrobuctfon 

¥¥¥ 

HE  late  Miss  Frances  Armat  Logan  by  her  Will  be- 
queathed  to  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania 
a  certain  sum  to  be  applied  "to  the  completion 
of  The  Life  of  Dr.  George  Logan,  of  Stenton."  The  life 
of  Dr.  Logan  to  which  Miss  Logan  refers  is  that  written  by 
her  grandmother,  Mrs.  Deborah  Norris  Logan,  his  widow. 
For  many  years  the  existence  of  this  "  Life"  has  been  known 
to  students  of  Pennsylvania  history.  The  intimate  personal 
knowledge  possessed  by  Mrs.  Logan  of  the  events  of  the 
first  half-century  of  the  life  of  the  nation,  the  fidelity  and 
literary  skill  with  which  she  describes  the  impression  made 
upon  her  by  constant  intercourse  with  the  eminent  men 
who  then  guided  the  national  policy,  the  knowledge  which 
she  possessed  of  the  secret  motives  which  roused  the  fierce 
and  unreasoning  passions  of  party  spirit  in  those  days,  as 
well  as  the  valuable  contributions  which  in  former  days  she 
has  made  to  Pennsylvania  provincial  history,  all  combine 
to  make  her  memoir  of  Dr.  Logan  a  singularly  important 
record  of  the  history  of  the  formative  condition  of  the  coun- 
try. Mrs.  Logan,  of  course,  was  in  full  sympathy  with  the 
opinions  and  acts  of  her  husband,  who  was  largely  engaged 
in  public  affairs  during  these  trying  times,  having  been  one 
of  the  leaders  of  the  anti-Federal  party  and  a  Senator  from 
Pennsylvania.  The  reader  must  expect  and  allow  for  such 

2  9 


IFntrotwction 


a  bias.  Still,  the  immense  value  of  the  personal  recollec- 
tions of  a  gifted  woman  who  writes  of  contemporaneous 
events  cannot  be  set  aside  nor  overlooked  as  having  a 
special  historical  value. 

Shortly  after  Dr.  Logan's  death  in  1821  Mrs.  Logan  be- 
gan her  biographical  work,  which  in  one  sense  is  the  record 
of  her  own  life  as  well  as  that  of  her  husband.  The  manu- 
script finally  came  into  the  hands  of  Miss  Logan,  the  grand- 
daughter of  Dr.  Logan.  Herself  an  enthusiastic  student 
of  Pennsylvania  history,  or,  at  least,  of  that  portion  of  it  in 
which  her  immediate  ancestors  had  been  such  conspicuous 
actors,  she  determined  to  place  within  the  reach  of  fellow- 
students  the  important  information  it  contained.  She  spent 
many  years  in  revising  and  copying  the  manuscript  and 
preparing  it  for  publication.  Unfortunately  for  her,  she 
lost  that  reward  for  her  labor  of  love  which  she  had  hoped 
for,  having  died  in  May,  1898,  in  England,  whither  she  had 
gone  on  a  visit  to  her  sister.  She  was  always,  however, 
so  much  in  earnest  lest  the  lessons  taught  by  the  life  of  her 
grandfather  should  be  denied  to  the  public  or  should  be 
forgotten,  and  that  the  precious  memorial  of  his  deeds  pre- 
pared by  her  grandmother  should  be  kept  only  as  a  family 
relic,  that  she  appointed  by  her  Will,  as  has  been  said,  the 
Historical  Society,  in  case  of  her  death,  her  agent  to  carry 
out  her  wishes  and  superintend  its  publication. 

In  this  way  and  under  this  trust  this  manuscript  comes 
into  the  hands  of  the  Society.  It  seems  necessary  in  order 
to  explain  the  part  taken  by  Dr.  Logan  in  the  political 
events  of  his  time  that  a  few  words  should  be  said  concern- 
ing his  environment  or  the  very  peculiar  condition  of  society 

10 


•(Introduction 


here  towards  the  close  of  the  last  century.  Mrs.  Logan,  it 
is  true,  gives  us  a  life-like  picture  of  the  career  of  her  hus- 
band, but  it  must  be  remembered  that  since  1821,  when  her 
memoir  was  begun,  much  light  has  been  thrown  upon  the 
policy  of  public  transactions,  in  which  Dr.  Logan  and  his 
friends  were  conspicuous  actors,  by  the  publication  of  the 
lives  and  letters  of  many  prominent  statesmen  who  were 
his  friends  or  opponents,  and  that  we  must  take  account  of 
the  information  thus  given  us  in  reaching  a  conclusion  con- 
cerning their  acts  and  motives. 

Mrs.  Logan  was  the  daughter  of  Charles  N orris,  and  was 
married  to  Dr.  Logan  in  1781.  This  lady  occupied  during 
her  whole  life  a  peculiar  position  in  Pennsylvania  society, 
her  family,  from  its  wealth,  position,  and  influence,  having 
always  held  the  foremost  rank.  It  is  now  hard  to  say 
whether  she  is  best  remembered  by  the  generous  and 
graceful  hospitality  which  she  dispensed  for  so  many  years 
at  Stenton,  her  husband's  seat,  or  by  the  charming  account 
she  has  given  us  of  the  life  there,  and  of  her  husband's  ac- 
tive share  in  it,  or  by  the  contributions  she  made  to  Penn- 
sylvania provincial  history,  especially  by  her  preparation  of 
the  "  Penn-Logan  Correspondence"  at  the  request  of  this 
Society.  She  lived  to  a  very  advanced  age,  the  object  of 
the  affection  and  reverence  of  all  her  relatives  and  friends, 
and  contributing  very  much  to  keep  up  the  reputation  of 
Stenton  as  the  most  interesting  historic  dwelling-place  in 
Pennsylvania. 

Dr.  Logan  lived  in  stirring  times,  new  and  untried  prob- 
lems constantly  presenting  themselves,  calling  forth  all  the 
energy  of  his  active  and  thoroughly  trained  mind  for  de- 

ii 


Untrofcuction 


cision.  During  a  large  portion  of  the  Revolution  he  was  a 
young  man  living  in  Europe,  pursuing  for  a  time  his  medi- 
cal education,  and  afterwards  travelling  on  the  continent, 
so  that  his  views  of  life  were  moulded  by  careful  observa- 
tion of  a  society  so  different  from  his  own.  He  seems  to 
have  devoted  much  time  to  scientific  inquiries  concerning 
improvements  in  agriculture,  a  subject  which  had  a  pecu- 
liar attraction  for  him,  as  he  looked  forward  to  passing  his 
life  as  a  farmer.  He  returned  to  his  home  in  1779,  and 
found  everything  in  apparently  hopeless  confusion,  his  beau- 
tiful estate  of  Stenton,  which  he  had  inherited  from  his 
father,  and  upon  the  returns  of  which  he  depended  largely 
for  his  income,  sadly  dilapidated  by  neglect  and  by  the  re- 
cent inroads  of  the  enemy. 

One  of  his  first  public  acts  after  his  return  illustrates  the 
benevolence  of  his  character.  A  large  number  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Charleston,  who  had  been  expelled  from  that  town 
after  its  surrender  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton  in  1780,  had  taken 
refuge  in  Philadelphia,  and  were  afterwards  joined  by  their 
families.  These  people,  numbering  at  least  one  thousand 
persons,  were  dependent  for  a  considerable  period  on  the 
liberality  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  city.  They  were  gen- 
erously entertained,  especially  by  the  Quakers,  and,  as  we 
shall  discover,  the  families  of  Governor  Rutledge,  of  Charles 
C.  Pinckney,  and  of  Thomas  Pinckney  resided  as  guests  of 
Dr.  Logan  at  Stenton  for  six  months,  and  were  there  lib- 
erally provided  for. 

He,  however,  set  to  work  bravely  to  repair  the  damage 
from  which  his  estate  had  suffered.  The  knowledge  which 
he  had  acquired  of  scientific  agriculture  enabled  him  very 

12 


flntrotMction 


soon  to  restore  his  estate  to  the  condition  which  it  had  oc- 
cupied previous  to  the  Revolution, — that  of  a  model  farm. 
His  character  and  his  skill  as  a  farmer  soon  became  known 
to  his  neighbors,  and  he  was  forced  to  become  their  repre- 
sentative in  the  Assembly,  where  for  four  years  (1785-1789) 
he  strove  with  a  discredited  State  constitution  to  bring 
about  changes  in  the  laws  which  would  transform  the  prov- 
ince into  an  independent  sovereign  commonwealth.  He 
seems  to  have  been  very  much  in  earnest  in  this  work  of 
political  reform.  He  studied  carefully  books  on  political 
and  social  science,  the  celebrated  work  of  Adam  Smith  on 
the  "Wealth  of  Nations,"  then  recently  published,  being 
his  favorite  text-book.  For  matters  of  local  interest,  such 
as  the  treatment  of  the  Indians,  the  lawfulness  of  defensive 
warfare,  the  sacredness  of  the  rights  of  conscience, — indeed, 
in  all  those  respects  in  which  Pennsylvania,  previous  to  the 
Revolution,  held  a  proud  pre-eminence  among  her  sister 
colonies, — he  followed,  as  far  as  it  was  practicable,  the  ex- 
ample or  advocated  the  policy  of  his  illustrious  grandfather, 
James  Logan.  His  grandfather  had  concerned  himself, 
more  particularly  in  early  life,  with  studies  in  physical  rather 
than  with  those  of  political  or  social  science,  in  which  de- 
partments of  knowledge  he  was  recognized  as  the  fore- 
most scholar  of  the  American  colonies.  We  have  only  to 
glance  over  the  catalogue  of  books  once  forming  his  private 
library,  and  now  the  Loganian  Library,  to  discover  that  his 
grandson,  surrounded  by  such  a  library,  had,  with  perhaps 
an  hereditary  tendency,  not  only  abundant  opportunity  of 
studying  the  application  of  science  to  the  arts  as  then  un- 
derstood, but  also  of  gaining  information  concerning  the 

'3 


flntrofcuctton 


true  means  of  developing  generally  the  resources  of  a  coun- 
try and  of  promoting  the  welfare  of  its  inhabitants.  Dr. 
Logan  was  no  doubt  led  in  his  speculations  on  government 
to  a  certain  extent  by  the  benevolence  of  his  disposition 
and  by  the  fashion  of  the  time  for  the  new  French  philoso- 
phy of  the  encyclopaedists  and  by  the  brilliant  denunciations 
of  the  existing  order  of  society  by  Rousseau  to  take  a  some- 
what optimistic  view  of  human  nature,  which  regards  man 
as  essentially  good  and  looks  upon  all  the  evil  in  him  as  the 
result  of  the  corrupt  and  tyrannical  power  of  the  society  of 
which  he  is  a  member.  This  sympathy  with  man  as  a  suf- 
ferer under  such  conditions  and  his  anxiety  to  relieve  him 
were  characteristic  of  Dr.  Logan's  acts  and  writings  through- 
out life.  He  shared  these  opinions  with  some  of  the  most 
illustrious  Americans  of  the  time, — among  others,  with  Jef- 
ferson, with  Dickinson,  and,  to  a  certain  extent,  with  Frank- 
lin. It  perhaps  may  be  said,  looking  at  his  whole  career, 
as  was  said  of  Jefferson,  "  He  hoped  to  make  his  country 
forever  pure  and  free ;  to  abolish  war  with  its  train  of  debt, 
extravagance,  corruption,  and  tyranny ;  to  build  up  a  gov- 
ernment devoted  only  to  useful  and  moral  objects,  and  to 
bring  forth  on  earth  a  new  era  of  peace  and  good  will 
among  men." 

With  opinions  such  as  these  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at 
that  to  him,  in  common  with  the  large  numbers  of  those  to 
whom  the  crowning  work  of  the  American  Revolution  was 
its  successful  vindication  of  popular  rights,  the  French  Revo- 
lution seemed  a  new  birth  in  the  political  world.  We  had 
at  that  time  many  reasons  for  loving  France.  Whatever 
may  have  been  her  motives,  we  could  not  but  be  grateful 

14 


IFntrofcuction 


for  the  invaluable  assistance  which  she  had  given  us  during 
the  war.  We  forgot  for  a  moment  that  it  was  monarchical 
France  that  had  aided  us,  and  the  early  acts  of  the  revolu- 
tionary leaders  in  that  country  and  the  formal  announce- 
ment of  her  political  principles  in  the  new  constitution, 
"The  Rights  of  Man,"  excited  unbounded  enthusiasm  on 
all  sides.  For  a  time  the  English  common  law,  which  had 
governed  us  during  the  colonial  era  and  which  was  the  basis 
of  our  civilization  generally,  and  which  had  grown  up  with 
it,  seemed  in  danger  of  being  supplanted  by  the  French 
theories,  which  had  become  fashionable.  The  ardor  of  this 
sympathy  with  the  revolutionary  doctrinaires  of  France  was, 
however,  soon  much  cooled  in  the  minds  of  many  by  the 
arbitrary  and  despotic  cruelty  by  which  the  French  republic 
was  maintained  and  by  the  anti-social  doctrines  generally 
which  it  proclaimed.  The  two  parties  which  contended  for 
supremacy  for  so  many  years  in  this  country,  if  not  origi- 
nally born  out  of  the  controversy  concerning  the  progress 
of  the  French  Revolution,  owed  much  of  the  vigor  and  bit- 
terness which  marked  their  history  to  a  difference  of  opinion 
concerning  the  acts  which  grew  out  of  it.  The  vastly  im- 
portant questions  concerning  our  newly-framed  Constitution 
were  for  a  time  subordinated  to  heated  rhetoric  concerning 
the  new  era  which  had  dawned  in  France.  The  first  open 
act  of  the  government  declaring  its  relations  with  the  new 
French  republic  was  the  proclamation  of  neutrality  issued 
by  President  Washington  in  April,  1793,  France  having 
entered  upon  a  war  with  England  and  Spain,  and  Mr. 
Genet,  the  first  French  minister,  having  arrived,  and  show- 
ing himself  disposed  to  appeal  to  those  he  called  "the  peo- 

15 


Untrofcuction 


pie,"  when  the  government  refused  to  permit  or  sanction 
the  course  he  pursued.  The  love  of  the  French  republican 
principles,  gratitude  towards  France,  the  alliance  with  that 
country  offensive  and  defensive  which  we  had  made  with  it 
in  1778,  not  to  speak  of  a  deep-seated  hatred  of  England, 
perhaps  not  unnatural,  drove  the  opponents  of  the  adminis- 
tration, then  called  Republicans,  into  a  most  violent  attack 
against  the  policy  of  the  government,  which  was  blamed 
because  it  did  not  look  leniently  upon  the  efforts  made  by 
the  French  republic  to  force  us  to  live  up  to  the  provisions 
of  the  treaty  of  alliance  of  1778,  but  was  disposed,  in  the 
execution  of  its  policy  of  neutrality,  to  look  favorably  upon 
English  claims.  To  this  Republican  party  Dr.  Logan,  in 
common  with  many  conspicuous  men,  belonged,  and  he 
advocated  their  doctrines  of  sympathy  with  France  with 
great  earnestness.  The  era  was  one  of  violent  abuse  and 
controversy  which  did  not  spare  the  character  and  conduct 
and  motives  of  Washington  himself.  There  is  perhaps  no 
chapter  in  our  history  more  characterized  by  vulgar  abuse 
and  mendacious  statements  than  this,  in  which  Freneau, 
Bache,  and  Duane  were  the  champions  on  the  one  side  and 
Cobbett  on  the  other.  Dr.  Logan,  with  all  the  ardor  of  his 
attachment  to  republican  principles,  never  showed  any  sym- 
pathy with  this  low  form  of  party  warfare.  He  was  not 
only  an  independent  in  his  politics,  but  also  a  gentleman  in 
his  feelings.  Many  of  his  personal  friends  were  Federalists, 
— Washington  at  their  head, — men  who  were  received  at 
Stenton,  as  will  be  seen  from  reading  Mrs.  Logan's  memoir, 
with  the  same  gracious  hospitality  as  that  which  marked  the 
intercourse  of  the  hosts  with  their  warmest  party  adherents. 

16 


flntrofcucticm 


It  is  true  that  as  time  went  on  party  spirit  became  more  and 
more  virulent,  and  there  grew  up  a  disposition  not  perhaps  so 
much  to  malign  openly  the  acts  as  to  denounce  the  motives 
of  those  who  differed  in  political  opinions.  Hamilton,  as  is 
well  known,  was  openly  charged  with  a  design  to  establish 
a  monarchy ;  and  even  Washington  was  not  spared.  From 
the  time  in  which  Jay's  treaty  was  confirmed  to  the  end  of 
the  century  all  who  took  an  active  part  in  politics  on  both 
sides  were  called  by  their  antagonists  all  the  vile  names 
and  said  to  be  governed  by  all  the  unworthy  motives  con- 
ceivable. Nothing  seems  more  curious  in  Mrs.  Logan's 
memoir  than  the  statement  that  her  husband,  desirous  of 
going  to  France  on  his  peace  mission  in  1798,  was  closely 
watched  by  a  committee  of  the  opposite  party,  appointed 
expressly  to  prevent  his  departure,  unless  it  be  the  state- 
ment of  the  owner  of  the  vessel  that,  had  he  known  Dr. 
Logan  intended  to  be  a  passenger,  he  would  have  pre- 
vented his  going. 

We  should  not  forget  that  in  those  days  the  most  exag- 
gerated language  was  employed  in  the  newspapers  in 
abusing  politicians  not  of  their  own  party.  Much  of  this 
was  in  the  nature  of  a  threat  and  was  little  heeded ;  yet 
there  seemed  at  times  a  disposition  to  introduce  here  meas- 
ures which  were  suggested  by  that  formidable  engine  of 
cruelty  and  tyranny  which  had  condemned  so  many  in 
France, — "la  lot  des  suspects"  Those  who  escaped  from 
the  penalties  of  the  alien  and  sedition  acts,  but  who  were 
prominent  as  anti-Federal  politicians,  lived  for  a  time  under 
threats  of  the  vengeance  of  their  opponents.  We  some- 
times think  that  nothing  could  be  more  bitter  than  the  at- 

17 


Untrofcuction 


tacks  we  now  witness  upon  candidates  for  public  office,  but 
we  have  not  yet  reached  the  depths  of  degradation  when 
our  fathers  were  accustomed  every  day  to  hear  Washing- 
ton, Adams,  Hamilton,  Jefferson,  Dickinson,  McKean,  and 
Logan,  the  true  fathers  of  the  Republic,  spoken  of  either  as 
confirmed  aristocrats  or  as  designing  traitors.  It  seems 
difficult  to  explain  this  outbreak  of  party  feeling  at  the  close 
of  the  last  century.  Perhaps  one  cause  may  have  been  the 
loosely  jointed  system  by  which  the  federal  power  was 
exerted  over  the  vast  regions  subject  to  it  and  the  want  of 
true  national  force  arising  out  of  the  difficulties  of  commu- 
nication between  the  different  parts  of  the  country. 

These  observations  are  made  with  the  view  of  reminding 
those  who  look  to  the  newspapers  of  the  day  for  the  motives 
which  induced  Dr.  Logan  to  embark  for  Europe  in  the  hope 
of  averting  the  threatened  hostilities  between  France  and 
this  country  that  these  sources  of  information  are  not  trust- 
worthy. To  the  one  class  he  is  an  angel  of  peace,  to  the 
other  a  wily  intriguer  ready  to  sacrifice  the  interests  and 
honor  of  his  own  country  if  he  could  help  his  own  party  at 
home  to  gain  the  ascendancy. 

Neither  of  these  judgments  is  well  formed,  and  we  are 
fortunate  in  possessing  "  the  plain  unvarnished  tale"  of  Mrs. 
Logan,  which  bears  the  stamp  of  truth  on  its  very  face  and 
is  confirmed  by  all  that  has  since  been  told  us  by  disinter- 
ested witnesses. 

In  1798  the  settlement  of  our  relations  with  France  en- 
gaged the  earnest  attention  of  the  government.  Our  for- 
eign commerce  had  been  nearly  destroyed  by  the  capture 
of  the  vessels  engaged  in  it  by  the  cruisers  of  France  and 

18 


Introduction 


of  England.  This  injury  we  alleged  had  been  done  in  clear 
violation  of  our  rights  as  a  neutral  power  and  with  full 
knowledge  of  the  declaration  we  had  made  of  those  rights 
by  the  proclamation  of  1793.  Our  object  was,  if  possible, 
to  avoid  war,  but  to  accomplish  our  purpose  by  yielding, 
for  the  time  at  least,  some  of  the  numerous  claims  which  we 
then  had  against  both  powers.  On  this  basis  we  had  suc- 
ceeded, in  1794,  in  making  a  treaty,  commonly  known  as 
"Jay's  treaty,"  the  provisions  of  which,  although  very  dis- 
tasteful to  the  party  opposed  to  the  administration  as  well 
as  to  France,  was  then  the  law  of  the  land.  The  govern- 
ment then  undertook  negotiations  with  France  in  order  to 
settle  the  question  of  neutral  rights  and  to  protect  our  com- 
merce from  the  depredations  of  that  power,  and  the  result 
was  looked  for  with  great  anxiety,  as  by  the  acts  of  the 
French  government  we  had  been  drawn  perilously  near 
war.  Messrs.  Marshall,  Pinckney,  and  Gerry  were  sent  to 
France  as  commissioners  to  carry  on  these  negotiations. 
These  gentlemen  were  not  received  by  the  foreign  minister, 
and  they  soon  found  that  neither  they  nor  any  other  minister 
would  be  recognized  as  representing  the  United  States. 
The  principal  cause  assigned  by  the  French  authorities  was 
the  conclusion  of  Jay's  treaty,  which  was  claimed  to  be  hos- 
tile to  France.  It  was  suggested,  however,  that  this  hostility 
might  be  atoned  for  by  a  bribe  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars  on  our  part  to  the  members  of  the  execu- 
tive directory.  Such  was  the  sort  of  diplomacy  which  the 
French  government  then  ventured,  in  its  contempt  of  our 
weakness,  to  indulge  in.  Such  a  proposition,  which  was 
rightly  regarded  by  Messrs.  Marshall  and  Pinckney  as  a 

19 


Introduction 


personal  and  national  insult,  drove  them  out  of  France, 
leaving  Mr.  Gerry,  who  was  of  the  opposition  to  the  admin- 
istration, to  try  and  see  what  he  could  do  alone.  His  for- 
giveness of  the  insult  was  unavailing,  and  no  treaty  was 
made  nor  negotiations  resumed. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  affairs  when  Dr.  George  Logan, 
thinking  that  he  might  assist  Gerry  in  the  negotiation, 
determined  to  go  to  France,  earnestly  hoping  that  he 
might  aid  in  averting  the  war  which  seemed  to  him  immi- 
nent. Possibly  he  may  have  thought,  from  certain  hints 
dropped  by  the  official  subordinates  with  whom  the  commis- 
sioners were  allowed  to  confer,  that  his  membership  of  the 
anti-federal  party  might  give  him  some  special  influence  in 
his  intercourse  with  the  French  authorities.  He  had,  of 
course,  no  official  relation  with  the  commissioners,  French 
or  American,  or  any  one  of  them.  Still  he  was  disposed  to 
try,  and  afterwards  did  try,  what  effect  the  arguments  which 
as  a  private  gentleman  he  might  use  would  have  with  the 
French  ministers.  Whether  this  course  of  action  was  a  wise 
or  judicious  one,  or  ever  promised  any  good  result,  is  not 
the  question.  Everything  about  the  life  of  Dr.  Logan  pro- 
claimed that  he  was  an  enthusiast,  certainly  not  less  in  the 
display  of  his  love  of  country  than  in  regard  to  all  subjects 
which  excited  his  interest  and  sympathy.  He  was  to  the 
last  degree  hopeful  and  self-reliant.  It  seems  strange  that 
a  man  with  these  well-known  characteristics,  leaving  home 
to  accomplish  what  was  apparently  a  most  benevolent  pur- 
pose, even  if  it  was  hopeless,  should  be  branded  as  a  traitor 
and  a  spy,  who  sought  to  compromise  the  true  interests  and 
dignity  of  his  country  for  the  sake  of  party  advantage.  Yet 

20 


Untrotwctton 


such  was  his  fate,  and  the  full  story  is  told  by  Mrs.  Logan 
in  this  volume.  Dr.  Logan  embarked  at  Philadelphia  for 
Hamburg  (that  being  the  best  route  then  open  for  his  jour- 
ney to  Paris)  in  June,  1798.  After  meeting  with  many  dif- 
ficulties in  his  efforts  to  reach  Paris,  fully  detailed  by  Mrs. 
Logan  in  her  memoir,  he  arrived  there  only  to  find  that  Mr. 
Gerry  had  taken  his  departure. 

This,  of  course,  took  away  what  little  authority  his  volun- 
teer mission  might  have  had.  In  some  way,  not  very  dis- 
tinctly explained,  he  was  brought  into  quite  intimate  relations 
with  members  of  the  executive  directory, — Merlin,  the  chief, 
Le  Peaux,  Talleyrand,  and  others.  How  he  availed  himself 
of  the  opportunities  of  presenting  the  position  of  his  country 
towards  France  is  best  seen  in  the  letters  in  which  he  sought 
to  explain  his  conduct.  We  can  hardly  understand  the 
abuse  which  was  heaped  upon  him  by  some  of  his  country- 
men, unless  we  suppose  that  his  opponents  thought  that  he 
was  dealing  with  the  same  men  who  had  offered  to  sell  what 
they  supposed  to  be  the  interests  of  their  country  to  our 
regular  agents  for  a  large  bribe.  "  No  sensible  man,"  ac- 
cording to  the  newspapers,  "  can  hesitate  to  suspect  that 
his  infernal  design  can  be  anything  less  than  the  introduc- 
tion of  a  French  army  to  teach  us  the  value  of  true  and 
essential  liberty  by  reorganizing  our  government  through 
the  blessed  operation  of  the  bayonet  and  the  guillotine. 
Let  every  American  now  gird  on  his  sword.  The  dema- 
gogue is  gone  to  the  Directory  for  purposes  destructive  of 
your  lives,  property,  liberty,  and  holy  religion."  But  the 
letters  speak  for  themselves,  and  will  be  found  in  the  Ap- 
pendix. 

21 


Untrotwction 


How  any  one,  even  among  the  most  malignant  opponents 
of  Dr.  Logan's  general  political  views,  could  have  believed 
that  any  corrupt  motive  or  secret  design  to  aid  the  Demo- 
cratic party  by  favoring  peaceful  relations  with  France  could 
exist  in  his  mind  it  is  hard  to  understand.  His  enemies 
represented  that  he  had  been  received  "  coolly"  by  Presi- 
dent Adams  and  General  Washington  on  his  return.  As 
to  the  latter  he  had  sent  to  the  President  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Barlow,  an  American  resident  in  Paris,  urging  that  a  treaty 
of  peace  should  be  made,  in  which  the  general  stated  that 
he  was  willing  to  enter  into  correspondence  with  its  writer, 
Mr.  Barlow,  "  a  private  gentleman  without  any  visible  cre- 
dentials or  public  character  or  responsibility  to  either  gov- 
ernment, in  order  to  bring  about  a  public  negotiation."  So 
a  short  time  afterwards  Mr.  Adams,  after  stating  that  he 
had  favorably  received  overtures  for  peace  from  private 
citizens  in  France  like  Mr.  Codman,  Mr.  Cutting,  and  Mr. 
Barlow,  wrote  as  follows  : 

"  Mr.  Logan,  of  Philadelphia,  a  gentleman  of  fortune  and 
education,  and  certainly  not  destitute  of  abilities,  who  had 
for  several  years  been  a  member  of  the  Legislature  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and  has  since  been  a  Senator  of  the  United  States, 
though  I  knew  that  he  had  been  one  of  the  old  constitu- 
tional party  in  that  State  and  a  zealous  disciple  of  that 
democratical  school  which  has  propagated  many  errors  in 
America,  and  perhaps  many  tragical  catastrophes  in  Europe, 
went  to  France  either  with  the  pretext  or  real  design  of  im- 
proving his  knowledge  of  agriculture  and  seeing  the  practice 
of  it  in  that  country.  I  had  no  reason  to  believe  him  a  cor- 
rupt character  or  deficient  in  memory  or  veracity.  After 

22 


Untrofcuction 


his  return  he  called  on  me  and  in  a  polite  manner  informed 
me  that  he  had  been  honoured  with  conversations  with  Tal- 
leyrand, who  had  been  well  acquainted  with  me  and  re- 
peatedly been  entertained  at  my  house,  and  now  visited 
me  at  his  request  to  express  to  me  the  desire  of  the  Di- 
rectory, as  well  as  his  own,  to  accommodate  all  disputes 
with  America  and  to  forget  all  that  was  past.  I  knew  the 
magical  words  Democrat  and  Jacobin  were  enough  to  de- 
stroy the  credibility  of  any  witness  with  some  people,  but 
not  so  with  me.  I  saw  marks  of  candour  and  sincerity  in 
this  relation  that  convinced  me  of  its  truth."  * 

The  only  public  recognition  which  this  self-imposed  task 
of  Dr.  Logan,  by  which  the  French  embargo  was  lifted  and 
hundreds  of  American  sailors  were  released  from  French 
prisons,  to  say  nothing  of  opening  the  way  to  peace,  ever 
received  was  the  passage  by  Congress  of  an  act  which 
stamped  as  a  crime,  punishable  with  fine  and  imprisonment, 
acts  such  as  those  which  Dr.  Logan  had  committed. 

Dr.  Logan  returned  to  Stenton  in  the  autumn  of  1798 
with  his  attachment  to  popular  and  democratic  principles  as 
then  held  by  Mr.  Jefferson  and  the  anti-Federal  party  much 
strengthened.  He  was  spoken  of  by  his  political  friends  as 
something  of  a  martyr,  besides  being  in  their  opinion  a  suc- 
cessful negotiator.  He  was  soon  selected  by  them  as  the 
fittest  man  to  represent  them  in  the  State  Legislature.  In 
those  days  that  body  was  composed  of  men  of  character 
well  known  to  their  constituents  by  their  capacity  and  in- 
tegrity in  the  communities  to  which  they  belonged.  There 

*  See  vol.  ii.  pp.  192,  193,  of  Gibbs's  Administration  of  Washington 
and  Adams. 

23 


Untrotwctton 


was  then,  of  course,  independence  of  mere  party  bonds  to 
an  extent  now  unknown  on  the  part  of  the  members,  and 
the  influence  of  men  who  had  proved  themselves  capable  of 
the  higher  form  of  legislation  was  encouraged.  Dr.  Logan 
was  no  doubt  in  this  body  a  party  leader,  but  where  his 
opinions  were  fixed  by  study  and  reflection  it  was  impossi- 
ble to  divert  him  from  his  course.  It  is  not  easy  at  this 
time  to  point  out  the  measures  he  advocated.  He  had 
views  on  certain  subjects  which  seem  now  strange  and  pe- 
culiar. He  strongly  opposed  the  grant  of  the  franchise  for 
constructing  a  turnpike  road  between  Philadelphia  and  Lan- 
caster, but  it  was  because  of  the  liberty  granted  by  it  to 
strangers  to  enter  upon  the  land  needed  for  the  road, 
even  if  the  owner  was  assured  of  payment  for  it.  He  was 
opposed  to  allowing  soldiers  under  arms  to  vote,  doubtless 
because  of  some  chimerical  fear  of  the  dangers  of  a  standing 
army ;  he  was  not  in  favor  of  encouraging  manufactures  in 
this  country,  although  he  favored  domestic  manufactures  in 
every  household,  because  he  had  been  deeply  impressed 
with  the  horrors  of  what  was  called  the  factory  system,  as 
carried  on  in  Europe.  He  was  the  enlightened  and  per- 
sistent advocate  of  public  education  at  a  time  when  the  re- 
ligious sect  to  which  he  belonged — the  Quakers — hesitated 
for  a  long  time  to  accept  the  munificent  gift  of  John  Dick- 
inson and  his  wife  for  the  support  of  a  seminary  of  learning, 
lest  while  knowledge  might  come  religion  would  linger. 

Whatever  may  be  thought  of  Dr.  Logan's  idiosyncrasies 
now,  it  is  very  certain  that  they  did  not  weaken  the  confi- 
dence of  his  party  adherents  in  him  at  that  time.  He  was 
elected  in  1802  by  the  Legislature  a  Senator  of  the  United 

24 


Introduction 


States  as  successor  of  General  Muhlenberg,  who  had  re- 
signed the  office.  He  remained  in  the  Senate  for  six  years, 
and  took  part  in  all  the  exciting  controversies  of  the  time. 
Notwithstanding  his  very  decided  views  in  regard  to  the 
construction  of  the  Constitution,  he  supported  Mr.  Jefferson 
in  his  measures  for  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana,  for  the  set- 
tlement of  its  boundaries,  and  a  form  of  government  which 
for  a  time  disfranchised  the  inhabitants  of  that  territory. 
He  helped  the  administration  to  overcome  the  thorny  diffi- 
culties which  stood  in  the  way  of  settling  our  rights  as  a 
neutral  power  against  their  constant  violation  by  France 
and  England,  and  he,  like  Jefferson,  was  accused  of  sacri- 
ficing to  a  love  of  peace  our  well-founded  claims  for  redress. 
He  shared,  too,  with  the  administration  the  policy  which 
was  adopted  when  some  of  the  States,  especially  in  New 
England,  driven  nearly  to  madness  by  the  embargo  and 
non-intercourse  acts,  were  discussing,  in  grave  earnest,  pro- 
jects of  secession.  We  never  hear  of  any  factious  appeals 
from  Dr.  Logan  while  he  was  a  member  of  the  Senate,  and 
when  his  term  of  office  expired  he  went  to  England,  in  1810, 
hoping  by  his  intercourse  with  people  of  influence  there  to 
avert  the  war  with  this  country  which  he  regarded  as  immi- 
nent. He  was  brought  into  pleasant  relations  in  England 
with  many  eminent  men  of  both  parties,  all  professing  a 
sincere  desire  for  peace  ;  but  after  all  his  efforts  the  gov- 
ernment, strongly  intrenched  in  the  belief  that  their  existing 
policy  was  the  one  best  suited  to  maintain  their  maritime 
supremacy,  declined  to  revoke  those  Orders  of  Council  which 
were  ruining  our  commerce.  In  his  efforts  to  prevent  war 
with  England  he  was  not  unmindful  of  the  increasing  power 
3  25 


flntrotwction 


of  France  and  the  danger  of  its  rendering  null  that  treaty 
by  which  her  unscrupulous  emperor  had  ceded  Louisiana  to 
us  should  such  a  course  be  found  necessary  for  carrying 
out  his  ambitious  schemes.  Jealousy  of  Napoleon  and  alarm 
at  the  dangers  to  be  apprehended  from  him  should  his  am- 
bition lead  him  to  undertake  conquests  on  this  continent 
became  cardinal  doctrines  of  the  leaders  of  a  large  sec- 
tion of  the  Democratic  party  during  the  wars  of  the  Em- 
pire, and  nowhere  will  he  be  found  more  severely  judged 
or  his  course  condemned  than  in  the  letters  of  Jefferson, 
Dickinson,  Dallas,  and  Logan.  When  we  were  at  last 
forced  into  a  war  with  England  both  powers  had  nearly 
reached  the  period  of  utter  exhaustion.  Still  Dr.  Logan 
and  his  friends  opposed  with  the  greatest  zeal  our  entering 
upon  hostilities,  feeling  that  the  objects  we  aimed  at  could 
be  better  reached  by  friendly  negotiation.  The  letters  to 
and  from  Dr.  Logan  clearly  illustrate  the  opinions  of  him- 
self and  his  political  friends  (of  the  highest  position  and 
influence)  concerning  the  war  of  1812  and  their  efforts  to 
avert  it. 

After  the  war  of  1812  Dr.  Logan  retired  wholly  from 
public  life.  He  had  never  been  an  active  partisan,  or  what 
in  these  days  is  called  a  "machine  politician," — making  use 
of  his  influence  with  his  party  to  advance  his  personal  inter- 
ests and  those  of  his  adherents.  He  was  surrounded  by 
many  whose  conduct  was  governed  by  lofty  motives.  It 
may  be  mentioned  here,  perhaps,  to  the  high  honor  of  two 
of  the  most  active  and  distinguished  of  our  early  Pennsyl- 
vania politicians, — John  Dickinson  and  George  Logan, — that 
the  reputation  of  both  of  them  has  come  down  to  us  unspot- 

26 


Untrofcuctton 


ted  by  any  taint  of  selfish  or  private  advantage.  The  public 
measures  they  advocated  and  the  political  theories  upon 
which  some  of  them  were  based  may  now  seem  unwise  or 
inexpedient,  but  they  were  always  the  result  of  painstaking 
and  conscientious  investigation.  They  both  lived  long 
enough  to  find  their  principles  discarded  by  the  party  with 
which  they  had  acted,  but  their  convictions  were  so  strong 
and  so  well  intrenched  that  they  never  wavered  in  main- 
taining them.  They  both  remained  to  their  lives'  end  stu- 
dents of  the  highest  form  of  self-government,  and  in  the 
quiet  of  a  country  life,  that  "classic  diversion  of  a  states- 
man's care,"  they  sought  to  discover  the  true  principle 
which  should  rule  a  modern  society  such  as  ours. 

Dr.  Logan's  retirement  did  not  diminish  his  interest  in 
public  men  and  public  affairs.  Stenton  became  a  most 
attractive  place  of  resort  not  merely  for  those  of  his  neigh- 
bors who  shared  the  views  of  its  owner,  but  for  many  well- 
known  strangers  who  came  there  to  enjoy  the  cultivated 
society  which  gathered  around  Dr.  Logan  and  his  highly 
accomplished  wife.  As  Stenton  is  so  closely  identified  with 
Dr.  Logan's  career,  and  was  in  itself  one  of  the  most  famous 
of  the  colonial  mansions,  we  borrow  from  Mr.  Westcott's 
book  the  following  account  of  the  place  and  its  historic  asso- 
ciations : 

"  About  the  year  1728  James  Logan  commenced  the  building  of  a  house 
upon  a  piece  of  ground  which  belonged  to  him  on  the  Germantown  Road 
south  of  the  village.  This  property  was  composed  of  several  pieces  which 
had  been  acquired  by  various  titles.  It  was  a  large  tract  which  touched 
on  the  east  side  of  Germantown  Road  above  Nicetown  at  the  intersection 
of  the  Township  Line  Road  and  running  over  to  the  Old  York  Road. 

27 


flntrofcuction 


Through  the  grounds  ran  the  Wingohocking,  a  branch  of  Tacony  or 
Frankford  Creek,  afterwards  known  as  "Logan's  Run."  The  house  was 
a  plain  two-story  brick,  with  a  pent  roof  and  attics,  sufficiently  spacious 
to  insure  ease  and  elegance.  The  house  is  believed  to  have  been  finished 
in  1728.  Mrs.  Sarah  Butler  Wister,  in  the  sketch  of  Deborah  Logan  in 
'Worthy  Women  of  Our  First  Century,'  describes  Stenton  with  a  loving 
minuteness  which  fills  out  a  perfect  picture.  '  Round  the  house  there 
was  the  quiet  stir  and  movement  of  a  country  place,  with  its  large  gardens 
full  of  old-fashioned  flowers  and  fruits,  its  poultry-yard,  and  stables.  The 
latter  were  connected  with  the  house  by  an  underground  passage  which 
led  to  a  concealed  staircase  and  a  door  under  the  roof,  like  the  "priest's 
escape' '  in  some  old  English  country-seats.  .  .  .  The  offices  surrounded 
the  main  building,  and  were  connnected  with  it  by  brick  courts  and  cov- 
ered ways.  They  were  all  at  the  back,  and  so  disposed  as  to  enhance  the 
picturesque  and  dignified  air  of  the  old  mansion,  the  interior  of  which 
is  as  curious  to  modern  eyes  as  it  is  imposing.  One  enters  by  a  brick 
hall,  opposite  to  which  is  the  magnificent  double  staircase,  while  right  and 
left  are  lofty  rooms  covered  with  fine  old-fashioned  wood-work,  in  some 
of  them  the  wainscot  being  carried  up  to  the  ceiling  above  the  chimney- 
place,  which  in  all  the  apartments  was  a  vast  opening  set  round  with 
blue  and  white  sculptured  tiles  of  the  most  grotesque  devices.  There 
are  corner  cupboards,  and  in  some  of  the  rooms  cupboards  in  arched 
niches  over  the  mantel-pieces,  capital  showcases  for  the  rare  china  and 
magnificent  old  silver  which  adorned  the  dinner-table  on  state  occasions. 
Half  of  the  front  of  the  house  in  the  second  story  was  taken  up  by  one 
large  finely  lighted  room,  the  library  of  the  book-loving  masters  of  the 
place. 

"  '  The  grounds  were  adorned  with  fine  old  trees.  A  splendid  avenue 
of  hemlocks,  which  legend  would  only  be  satisfied  with  declaring  were 
planted  by  William  Penn  (although  he,  poor  man  !  was  dead  years  before 
Stenton  was  built),  led  up  to  the  house.  The  Wingohocking  meandered 
through  the  plantation,  lighting  up  the  landscape  with  brightness  wherever 
its  placid  surface  was  seen.  Stenton  was  a  house  for  the  living,  but  the 
affection  which  the  owners  had  for  it  made  the  estate  in  time  a  last  resting- 
place  for  the  dead.  The  family  graveyard  is  romantically  situated,  sur- 

28 


flntrofcuction 


rounded  with  old  trees  and  with  all  accessories  of  a  spot  to  be  picked  out 
as  a  beautiful  garden  of  the  dead.' 

"  After  Stenton  was  built  it  was  first  occupied  as  a  summer  residence, 
but  in  time  it  became  Logan's  permanent  dwelling.  In  deeds  made  in 
1730  he  describes  himself  as  'James  Logan  of  Philadelphia,'  but  in  1732 
he  begins  to  call  himself  'James  Logan  of  Stenton.'  Here,  in  conse- 
quence of  his  sickness,  many  affairs  of  state  were  transacted.  From 
August,  1736,  to  August,  1738,  James  Logan  was  President  of  the  Coun- 
cil, and  many  consultations  were  held  at  Stenton.  Deputations  of  Indians 
who  visited  Philadelphia  found  it  convenient  to  seek  the  seat  near  Ger- 
mantown,  and  accommodations  which  might  be  called  permanent  were 
made  for  their  reception  on  the  grounds.  On  some  occasions  there  were 
three  or  four  hundred  sons  of  the  forest  at  Stenton,  and  the  deputations 
would  remain  for  days  enjoying  the  hospitality  of  the  plantation.  Can- 
nassetego,  chief  of  the  Onondagas,  in  a  treaty  made  with  the  Six  Nations 
at  Philadelphia  in  July,  1742,  by  Governor  George  Thomas  and  council, 
thus  expressed  himself  in  relation  to  Logan :  '  Brethren,  we  called  at  our 
friend  James  Logan's  on  our  way  to  this  city,  and  to  our  grief  found  him 
hid  in  the  bushes  and  retired  through  infirmities  from  public  business. 
We  pressed  him  to  leave  his  retirement,  and  prevailed  with  him  to  assist 
once  more  on  our  account  at  your  council.  He  is  a  wise  man  and  a  fast 
friend  to  the  Indians,  and  we  desire  when  his  soul  goes  to  God  you  may 
choose  in  his  room  just  such  another  person  of  the  same  prudence  and 
ability  in  counselling,  and  of  the  same  tender  disposition  and  affection  for 
the  Indians.'  Between  1731  and  1739  Logan  was  chief  justice  of  the 
province,  and  when  he  was  not  able  to  come  to  the  city  the  consultations 
of  himself  and  associates  were  held  at  Stenton." 

At  different  times  Peter  S.  Duponceau,  the  aide-de-camp 
of  Steuben  and  President  of  the  Historical  Society,  was  a 
guest;  at  others,  Robert  Walsh,  who  was  regarded  as 
the  most  eminent  publicist  (not  a  politician)  of  his  day,  was 
welcomed;  then  Dupont  de  Nemours,  one  of  the  purest 
of  the  French  revolutionary  patriots,  charmed  every  one 

29  * 


Introfcuctton 


with  the  reminiscences  of  his  stormy  career.  And  John 
Randolph  of  Roanoke  added  a  charm  peculiarly  his  own  to 
the  attractions  of  the  place ;  and  last  and  strangest  of  all, 
Colonel  Pickering,  once  the  violent  opponent  of  Dr.  Logan, 
became  in  later  years  an  honored  guest  and  one  of  his 
warmest  friends.  Dr.  Logan  kept  up,  too,  his  correspond- 
ence with  many  conspicuous  persons  he  had  known  during 
his  service  as  a  Senator.  As  an  independent  thinker  he 
spoke  his  mind  pretty  freely  in  his  letters  to  Jefferson, 
Madison,  Monroe,  and  Randolph,  as  the  reader  will  find  by 
turning  to  his  letters. 

As  to  Dr.  Logan's  character  in  private  life,  our  best  guide 
is  the  language  of  his  disconsolate  widow :  "  We  had  lived 
together,"  she  says,  "  nearly  forty  years,  and  the  most  affec- 
tionate love  and  entire  confidence  always  subsisted  between 
us,  from  which  I  had  reason  to  believe  that  I  perfectly  knew 
his  character,  and  a  more  kind  and  humane  heart  or  more 
upright  and  just  emotions  I  am  sure  no  man  could  possess. 
.  .  .  He  was  constant  in  his  attachments,  a  most  tender 
husband,  a  kind  father,  a  just  and  good  landlord  and  mas- 
ter, and  a  steady  and  efficient  friend." 

After  a  languishing  illness  of  many  months  he  died  at 
Stenton,  April  9,  1821,  at  the  age  of  sixty-seven  years,  and 
his  body  was  interred  in  the  family  burial-ground  there. 

C.  J.  S. 
HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA, 

January,  1899. 


¥¥¥ 

CHAPTER  I 
Mis  Earls  %tfe  ano  Education 

f^^*r*H.E  infinitely  wise  and  good  God  having  been 
\jl  pleased  in  the  course  of  His  overruling  provi- 
dence to  take  out  of  this  transitory  life  my  hon- 
oured and  beloved  husband,  I  have  thought  it  to  be  my  duty 
for  the  information  of  his  family  and  posterity,  but  without 
any  view  whatever  to  the  publication  of  the  present  work, 
to  attempt  some  biographical  notices  of  his  life  and  char- 
acter,— imperfect  and  unsatisfactory  as  I  fear  they  will 
prove  both  from  my  conscious  inability  to  undertake  such 
a  task  and  the  scantiness  of  the  materials  from  which  it 
must  be  compiled.  I  know  and  feel  that  the  only  claim 
to  attention  which  I  can  urge  will  be  the  uncommon  dis- 
interestedness, patriotism,  and  integrity  of  the  character 
whose  delineation  I  am  about  to  attempt  and  the  strict 
regard  to  veracity  which  shall  guide  my  pen  in  this  un- 
dertaking. 

Dr.  George  Logan  was  born  at  Stenton,  the  seat  of  [his] 
ancestors,  in  the  county  of  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  on 
the  gth  day  of  the  ninth  month  (September),  1753.  His 
father,  William  Logan,  was  eldest  surviving  son  of  the  cele- 

31 


flDemoit  of  Dr.  0eor$e 


brated  James  Logan,  one  of  the  most  excellent  as  well  as 
learned  men  of  whom  our  country  has  had  to  boast.  Wil- 
liam Logan  was  likewise  a  virtuous  and  respectable  man,  a 
good  citizen,  upright,  and  public-spirited.  He  married 
Hannah  Emlen,  daughter  of  George  Emlen,  of  Philadel- 
phia, a  beautiful  and  pious  woman.  Dr.  Logan  was  their 
third  son,  and  was  sent  at  an  early  age  with  a  brother  a 
year  younger  than  himself  to  England  for  his  education.* 

The  brothers  did  not  stay  long  in  Europe,  but,  returning 
to  this  country,  George  perfected  himself  in  the  Latin  lan- 
guage under  the  celebrated  Robert  Proud,  and  was  after- 
wards apprenticed  to  a  merchant  of  Philadelphia  (the  ven- 
erable John  Reynell),  notwithstanding  he  had  manifested 
the  most  marked  predilection  for  the  study  of  medicine. 

*  One  circumstance  respecting  the  early  part  of  my  husband's  life  I  wish 
to  preserve,  and  think  I  can  do  it  better  in  a  note  than  interrupting  the 
thread  of  my  little  narrative.  It  strongly  tends  to  illustrate  the  remark  of 
our  great  poet  that 

"  The  childhood  shows  the  man." — MlLTON. 

During  the  time  he  was  first  in  England,  when  he  was  scarce  ten  years 
old,  his  sister  had  knit  two  purses  and  sent  them  to  her  absent  brothers, 
each  containing  a  piece  of  gold,  the  largest  sum  of  which  at  that  time 
they  had  ever  had  the  disposal.  George  had  become  acquainted  with  a 
lame  boy,  whose  mother,  an  industrious,  indigent  woman  with  a  family  to 
maintain,  lived  in  the  neighbourhood.  He  carried  his  little  treasure  to 
this  poor  widow  and  desired  it  might  be  expended  in  putting  her  lame 
son  to  school,  which  he  had  the  pleasure  to  see  accomplished.  And  the 
reflection  which  my  beloved  husband  made  when  he  related  this  little  in- 
cident to  me  was,  How  would  it  have  been  possible  so  to  have  expended 
the  money  as  to  have  procured  for  him  equal  gratification  ?  It  lasted 
through  life. 

32 


flDcmotr  of  2>r.  (Beorge 


His  father's  objection  to  gratifying  him  in  this  particular 
arose  from  the  circumstance  of  his  eldest  surviving  son 
having  settled  in  Philadelphia  in  the  practice  of  that  pro- 
fession. But  at  length  the  intercession  of  this  brother,* 
joined  to  his  own  earnest  remonstrances,  prevailed  with 
the  father,  and  after  he  had  served  out  the  term  of  his 
apprenticeship  his  father  permitted  him  to  return  to  Eng- 
land in  order  to  qualify  himself  for  the  practice  of  physic, 
the  strong  inclination  which  he  felt  for  this  science  having 
been  fostered  and  indulged  from  infancy.  At  an  early 
age  he  had  innoculated  himself,  his  parents  being  irreso- 
lute or  contradictory  on  the  propriety  of  inflicting  the  dis- 
ease on  their  children,  and  he  passed  through  it  in  the 
most  favourable  manner. 

During  his  apprenticeship  he  had  much  leisure.  The 
opulence  of  the  merchant  with  whom  he  was  placed  enabling 
him  to  retire  from  business,  he  suffered  it  to  decline,  and  his 
apprentice  eagerly  seized  this  opportunity  to  read  medical 
books,  of  which  he  found  an  ample  supply  in  his  father's 
library,  at  that  period  very  much  enlarged  by  a  collection 
of  the  best  authors  which  had  belonged  to  his  deceased 
uncle,  Dr.  William  Logan,  Sr.,  who  had  been  a  successful 
practitioner  in  the  city  of  Bristol,  England,  two  thousand 
volumes  of  which  were  afterwards  devised  as  legacies  to  the 
Loganian  and  Philadelphia  Libraries. 

William  Logan  did  not  long  survive  his  son's  departure 
for  Europe,  but  previous  to  his  death  he  had  witnessed  the 

*  Dr.  William  Logan,  Jr.  He  was  an  amiable  young  man  of  distin- 
guished abilities,  and  had  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  profession  with 
every  prospect  of  success,  but  was  suddenly  cut  off  in  the  flower  of  his  age. 

33 


flDemotr  of  3Dr*  (Beorge  Xogan 


sorrowful  decease  of  his  eldest  son,  and  was  now  well 
pleased  that  another  was  desirous  to  qualify  himself  forthe 
practice  of  medicine,  and  he  earnestly  recommended  him  to 
the  care  of  his  worthy  friends  David  Barclay  and  the  cele- 
brated Dr.  Fothergill,  with  whom  he  had  long  been  in  the 
habit  of  intimate  correspondence.  Dr.  Logan  always  ac- 
knowledged in  the  most  grateful  manner  the  attentions 
which  he  received  from  these  good  men.  By  Dr.  Fothergill's 
advice  he  boarded  himself  in  the  family  of  Dr.  Simms,  in 
Essex,  father  of  the  present  Dr.  Simms,  one  of  the  physi- 
cians to  the  royal  family.  To  this  gentleman  he  gave  a  pre- 
mium for  his  instruction  and  undertook  to  compound  all  his 
prescriptions,  for,  unlike  the  usual  practice  in  that  country, 
he  furnished  the  medicines  himself  to  his  patients,  who  were 
very  numerous  ;  and  Dr.  Logan  often  attended  them  with 
him,  and  otherwise  pursued  his  studies  with  such  diligence 
that  he  scarcely  allowed  himself  time  for  necessary  recrea- 
tion, or  even  for  the  refreshment  of  sufficient  sleep.  After 
passing  a  twelvemonth  in  this  manner,  and  having  obtained 
a  good  knowledge  of  pharmacy,  he  repaired  to  Edinburgh, 
where  his  diligent  attention  to  the  means  of  improvement, 
his  eager  desire  of  knowledge,  the  temperance  of  his  habits, 
and  his  gentlemanly  deportment  secured  for  him  universal 
esteem.  The  professors  regarded  him  as  one  of  their  dis- 
tinguished pupils,  and  he  ranked  the  most  amiable  of  the 
students  as  his  friends.  I  have  heard  him  particularly  men- 
tion Dr.  Parry,  Dr.  Currie,  of  Liverpool ;  Dr.  Fox,  of  Fal- 
mouth ;  Dr.  Fowler,  and  a  very  promising  young  physician, 
a  son  of  the  celebrated  Dr.  Darwin,  with  whom  he  was  very 
intimate.  The  last  died  during  the  period  of  his  studies  at 

34 


flllcmoir  of  S>r,  (Bcorge  Xogan 


Edinburgh  of  a  putrid  fever  contracted  by  dissecting  a  mor- 
bid body.  His  father  was  sent  for  during  his  illness,  but 
did  not  arrive  until  after  his  death.  He  was  distressed,  no 
doubt,  at  finding  that  event  had  taken  place  which  deprived 
him  of  an  excellent  and  accomplished  son  and  the  profession 
of  an  expected  ornament;  but  after  viewing  the  lifeless 
corpse  he  immediately  left  Edinburgh  without  staying  to 
witness  its  interment.  A  mode  of  conduct  so  different  from 
our  own  usages  on  such  occasions,  and  which  at  least  ap- 
peared unfeeling,  filled  the  mind  of  Dr.  Logan,  who  had 
been  very  attentive  to  his  friend  through  the  whole  of  his 
fatal  illness,  with  astonishment  and  disgust. 

There  is  perhaps  no  sensation  so  gratifying  and  delight- 
ful to  the  human  mind  as  the  consciousness  of  its  improve- 
ment ;  and  it  is  this  which  makes  the  recollection  of  time 
spent  in  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  so  full  of  pleasing 
images.  Dr.  Logan  delighted  to  dwell  on  the  satisfaction 
which  his  residence  in  Scotland  had  afforded  to  him,  and  he 
left  it  after  three  years'  residence  with  'the  friendship  and 
respect  of  all  those  to  whom  he  had  been  known,  which  in- 
cluded the  names  of  those  great  men  in  literature  and  the 
sciences  who  were  then  laying  the  foundation  of  those 
schools  of  proficiency  which  have  since  dignified  their  capi- 
tal with  the  appellation  of  the  Athens  of  the  North.  He 
had  during  his  stay  been  elected  president  of  the  medical 
society,  an  institution  founded  by  the  students  to  further 
their  attainments  in  the  profession,  and  which  has  been 
found  greatly  to  facilitate  the  end  proposed.  Dr.  Logan 
obtained  his  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  in  1779,  and  left 
Edinburgh,  as  I  have  before  remarked,  intent  upon  gaining 

35 


HDemotr  of  2)r.  <3eor$e  Xogan 


for  himself  some  other  advantages  in  the  schools  of  London 
and  Paris.* 

There  is  still  remaining  in  the  possession  of  his  family  at 
Stenton  a  copy-book  of  letters  addressed  to  his  younger 
brother  in  Philadelphia,  written  at  this  period,  which  shows 
how  intent  was  his  mind  on  information  and  improvement, 
and  likewise  is  a  demonstration  of  the  goodness  of  his  heart, 
fraught  with  sentiments  of  honour  and  benevolence,  and 
breathing  that  true  fraternal  affection  which  endeavoured  to 
incite  his  brother  both  by  precept  and  example  to  a  life  of 
virtue  and  usefulness  to  mankind. 

After  he  left  Scotland  he  visited  several  parts  of  England 
and  Ireland,  and,  crossing  over  to  the  continent,  travelled 
through  Holland,  to  France,  Germany,  and  Italy.  He  made 
the  longest  stay  in  France,  where  he  attended  the  anatomi- 
cal lectures.  Dr.  Franklin  was  then  resident  at  the  French 
Court  and  was  extremely  kind  and  friendly  to  his  young 
countryman,  saying  that  he  was  happy  to  have  it  in  his 
power  to  return  the  obligation  which  he  himself  had  received 
in  his  young  and  inexperienced  years  from  the  friendship 
and  wisdom  of  Dr.  Logan's  grandfather.  At  Passy,  in  the 
company  of  the  sage,  Dr.  Logan  spent  many  delightful 
hours  ;  he  was  on  terms  of  the  greatest  intimacy,  admitted 
into  his  study,  and  frequently  breakfasted  and  spent  the 
morning  with  him,  and  it  seemed  impossible  to  be  in  Frank- 
lin's company  without  feeling  yourself  to  advance  in  the 

*  When  Dr.  Logan  returned  to  America  in  1779  he  brought  letters  of 
warm  recommendation  from  Dr.  Franklin  to  several  influential  characters 
stating  the  correctness  of  his  conduct  and  principles  with  respect  to  his 
own  country  whilst  abroad. 

36 


flilemotr  of  Dr.  <5eor$e  Slogan 


scale  of  improvement,  his  various  knowledge,  his  clear  com- 
mon sense,  wit,  and  intelligence  diffusing  itself  through  his 
easy  and  unaffected  conversation  like  the  corruscations  of 
his  own  brilliant  discoveries  from  a  highly  charged  object. 

An  occurrence  took  place  about  this  time,  connected  with 
one  of  these  visits  to  Passy,  which  Dr.  Logan  used  in  after- 
life to  mention  as  what  had  given  him  a  strong  distaste  to 
arbitrary  power,  and  placing  in  contrast  the  blessings  and 
benefits  of  a  free  constitution  where  the  rights  of  every  in- 
dividual are  placed  under  the  protection  of  the  laws,  and 
the  meanest  criminal  cannot  be  imprisoned  without  knowing 
for  what  crime  it  is  inflicted  and  who  are  his  accusers. 
Dining  one  day  at  Passy  with  other  company,  a  Mr.  Adair 
was  introduced  by  Dr.  Franklin  as  an  American  gentleman, 
but  from  what  State  I  do  not  recollect.  During  the  enter- 
tainment the  difficulty  of  procuring  Madeira  wine  at  that 
time  in  France  was  mentioned  by  Dr.  Franklin,  when  Mr. 
Adair  said  he  had  some  very  fine  and  would  do  himself  the 
pleasure  of  sending  the  doctor  a  few  dozen.  In  the  even- 
ing, when  the  company  broke  up,  Dr.  Logan  asked  Mr. 
Adair  to  take  a  seat  in  his  post-chaise,  as  that  gentleman 
was  without  a  conveyance  of  his  own.  He  accepted  the 
offer,  and  it  produced  an  interchange  of  visits.  Shortly 
after,  Dr.  Logan,  calling  at  his  lodging,  was  informed  by  his 
servant  that  Mr.  Adair  had  disappeared  in  an  unaccountable 
manner ;  his  effects  were  all  left  behind,  his  money  in  his 
banker's  hands,  but  no  intelligence  of  him  had  transpired. 
At  length  it  was  known  that  he  had  been  confined  by  a 
lettre  de  cachet  in  the  Bastille  upon  a  suspicion  that  the  wine 
he  had  presented  to  Dr.  Franklin  was  poisoned.  The  arrest 

37 


flUemotr  of  Br.  <5eor$e  Xo$an 


was  officially  made  without  the  knowledge  of  our  minister, 
and  I  believe  the  liberation  was  in  consequence  of  his  inter- 
ference. 

Dr.  Logan  continued  his  attentions  to  this  great  man 
after  his  return  to  his  native  country,  and  had  the  pleasure 
of  being  ranked  among  the  friends  of  his  declining  years. 
A  remarkable  trait  in  his  character  was  that,  even  in  his 
early  youth,  he  sought  the  company  of  his  seniors,  who  were 
distinguished  for  their  wisdom  and  virtue. 

I  have  often  thought  that  Dr.  Franklin  must  have  sensi- 
bly felt  the  difference  between  the  eclat  which  he  enjoyed  at 
the  Court  of  France  and  the  reception  which  he  met  with 
upon  his  final  return  to  his  native  country. 

The  elements  of  two  parties  were  then  fermenting  them- 
selves into  the  form  which  they  afterwards  assumed.  The 
mass  of  the  population  of  Pennsylvania  was,  as  it  has  been 
ever  since  (and  may  I  not  say  ever  was  ?),  decidedly  demo- 
cratic ;  but  there  was  a  contrary  spirit  then  dominant  and 
thinly  diffused  over  the  surface  of  society  which  rejected  the 
philosopher  because  they  thought  he  was  too  much  of  that 
popular  stamp. 

The  first  constitution  of  our  State  after  the  Revolution, 
which  was  his  work,  though  adopted  by  the  great  body  of 
the  people,  was  disliked  ;  and  I  well  remember  the  remark 
of  a  fool,  though  a  fashionable  party-man  at  the  time,  that 
it  was  by  no  means  "  fashionable"  to  visit  Dr.  Franklin. 
No  doubt  he  was  saved  from  much  impertinence  by  the 
company  of  such  being  withheld  ;  but  it  may  justly  be  ques- 
tioned whether  those  were  not  greatly  the  losers  who  with- 
held from  themselves  the  entertainment  and  advantages  of 

38 


fniemoir  of  Dr.  (Beorse  Xogan 


his  rich  and  varied  conversation.  Foreigners  of  the  first 
distinction  thought  themselves  happy  in  obtaining  such  a 
privilege,  and  a  few  of  his  old  and  tried  friends  yet  remained 
to  cheer  the  evening  of  his  eventful  life.  One  of  these  (the 
venerable  Charles  Thomson)  was  very  often  with  him,  and 
he  has  told  me  that,  visiting  the  doctor  on  his  sick-bed  a 
short  time  before  he  died,  he,  in  an  allusion  to  a  conversa- 
tion that  had  formerly  passed  between  them,  said,  "It  is 
best  to  believe."  * 

My  husband  was  in  the  habit  of  visiting  him  very  often, 
and  in  his  last  illness  frequently  watched  with  him  and  spent 
many  hours  at  his  bedside,  and  finally  was  one  of  those  who, 
in  compliance  with  our  ancient  usages,  assisted  to  bear  the 
corpse  of  this  eminent  man  to  the  place  of  interment,  the 
city  watchmen  who  were  in  attendance  being  set  aside  in 
favour  of  a  still  more  primitive  custom  and  their  places  sup- 
plied by  some  of  the  most  distinguished  citizens. 

I  have  already  mentioned  that  Dr.  Logan  had  the  misfor- 

*  I  have  myself  had  the  pleasure  of  being  a  few  times  in  Dr.  Franklin's 
society.  His  conversation  was  easy,  and  appeared  to  grow  entirely  out  of 
the  circumstances  that  presented  themselves  to  the  company,  yet  I  observed 
that  if  you  did  not  find  you  had  acquired  something  by  being  with  him  it 
must  be  placed  to  the  account  of  your  own  want  of  attention.  His  familiar 
letters  give  you  a  good  idea  of  his  conversation, — a  natural  and  good- 
humoured  (not  sarcastic)  wit  played  cheerfully  along  and  beguiled  you  into 
maxims  of  prudence  and  wisdom.  The  man  who  could  make  the  sayings 
of  "Poor  Richard"  fashionable  in  France  must  have  had  no  ordinary 
powers  of  conversation.  What  a  pity  there  should  have  been  any  "  errata" 
in  his  moral  conduct !  What  a  pity  that  he  should  have  stooped  to  dis- 
honour his  pen  by  the  false  statements  and  glosses  of  "  The  Critical  Review 
of  the  Government  of  Pennsylvania"  ! 

39 


(TDemotr  of  Dr»  George  ILooan 


tune  to  lose  his  father  soon  after  he  embarked  for  England. 
The  death  of  his  mother  followed  in  a  few  months ;  and 
when,  after  his  return,  he  received  possession  of  his  pater- 
nal estate,  he  found  it  little  better  than  a  wreck.  His  house 
at  Stenton  had,  indeed,  been  more  fortunate  than  many 
others  in  the  neighbourhood,  for  it  had  escaped  being  burned 
by  the  British  army  at  the  time  that  they  fired  Fairhill  and 
sixteen  other  seats  and  houses  in  its  vicinity,  and  it  seemed 
to  owe  its  preservation  to  the  presence  of  mind  of  an  old 
domestic,  who  had  remained  in  it  through  all  the  vicissitudes 
of  its  serving  for  head-quarters  for  both  armies. 

On  the  unfortunately  memorable  day  (November  22, 
1777)  that  they  committed  these  wanton  depredations  two 
British  soldiers  came  to  the  house  and,  as  an  act  of  special 
favour,  desired  the  old  woman,  if  she  possessed  a  bed  or  any 
furniture  of  her  own,  to  take  it  out  directly,  as  they  intended 
to  fire  the  house.  She  remonstrated,  but  they  were  deaf 
to  her  oratory,  and  went  to  the  barn  for  straw  wherewith 
to  effect  their  design.  Happily,  at  that  moment  an  officer 
with  a  drawn  sword  in  his  hand  galloped  down  the  lane  and 
inquired  of  the  woman  if  she  could  give  him  any  informa- 
tion respecting  deserters.  SJie  quickly  replied  that  two 
such  had  seen  him  coming  and  were  gone  to  the  barn  to 
secrete  themselves.  He  was  there  in  a  moment,  and  drove 
them  before  him,  notwithstanding  their  protestations  that 
they  belonged  to  Colonel  Twisleton's*  party  sent  to  fire 
the  rebels'  houses. 

*  Afterwards  Lord  Say  and  Sele.  A  person  who  was  present  at  head- 
quarters heard  him  exultingly  tell  General  Howe  that  he  had  burned  that 

d d  rebel  Dickinson's  house,  meaning  "  Fairhill,"  a  seat  of  uncommon 

40 


of  Dr.  $eor0c  Xooari 


ij«-j 

few  n.  and 

cived  possession  of  his  p 
rter  than  a  wreck.     His  house 
fortunate  than  many 

^tntt?  J  being  burned 

rhill  and 


cial 

->ssessed  a  bed  or  any 

y  intended 

i,  but  tliey  were  deaf 


•n; 

d  seen  him  coming  and  were  gone  to  the  barn  to 
h<im*e!ves.     He  was  there  in  a  moment,  and  drove 

ns  that 
fire 

• 


flDemotr  of  2)r,  (Beorge  Slogan 


After  that  day  no  more  devastations  of  that  kind  were 
permitted,  but  the  farm  was  completely  pillaged  and  laid 
waste,  so  that  when  its  owner  returned  to  Pennsylvania  the 
war  and  its  consequences  had  left  him  nothing  to  receive  at 
the  hands  of  his  father's  executors  but  wasted  estates  and 
piles  of  utterly  depreciated  paper  currency. 

value  and  beauty.  Galloway,  who  was  also  there,  told  him  he  was  mis- 
taken. Mr.  Dickinson  had,  indeed,  resided  there,  but  it  was  the  property 
of  a  minor.  The  interference  of  Galloway,  it  was  said,  prevented  any 
more  orders  to  burn  houses. 

"  Fairhill"  had  been  settled  on  my  brothers  by  their  cousins,  the  daugh- 
ters of  Isaac  Norris,  Esq. ,  very  soon  after  his  decease. 


CHAPTER   II 


IN  times  of  national  prosperity  resources  are  avail- 
able upon  every  hand,  and  money  to  a  large 
amount  can  be  commanded  by  those  who  have 
landed  property  to  offer  as  security ;  but  it  is  difficult  now 
to  conceive  the  distress  and  embarrassment  which  attended 
this  period  of  our  affairs.  Dr.  Logan  found  it  difficult  to 
obtain  even  a  small  sum  on  loan  notwithstanding  the  ample 
security  which  he  had  to  offer.  He  returned  to  this  country 
in  the  fall  of  1780,  and  in  about  a  twelvemonth  after  we 
were  married  (September  6,  1781).  It  now  became  neces- 
sary for  him  to  decide  upon  what  should  be  his  future  occu- 
pation in  life.  He  had  some  experience  of  the  difficulties 
attendant  on  an  entrance  to  his  profession,  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  dilapidated  state  of  his  affairs  required  his 
utmost  care  ;  so  after  much  reflection  and  doubt,  after  a  resi- 
dence of  some  months  in  Philadelphia,  we  removed  to  Sten- 
ton.  But  I  ought  to  say  that  previous  to  our  removal  it 
had  been  in  the  occupancy  of  three  of  the  most  distinguished 
gentlemen  who,  with  their  wives  and  families,  were  refugees 
from  Charleston,  in  South  Carolina,  at  that  time  in  posses- 
sion of  the  British  forces, — General  Charles  Cotesworth 
Pinckney,  his  brother,  Major  Thomas  Pinckney  (then  labour- 
ing under  a  severe  wound  received  in  defence  of  his  coun- 
try), and  Edward  Rutledge,  Esq.,  afterwards  governor  of 
South  Carolina.  They  were  hospitably  accommodated  by 
Dr.  Logan  with  the  loan  of  his  house  and  furniture  and  sup- 

42 


flDemoir  of  Dr.  (Beorae  Xogan 


plied  with  wood  for  their  families  during  their  stay,  which 
was  above  six  months,  a  liberality  which  he  extended  to 
many  other  of  the  refugees  who  passed  that  winter  in  Phila- 
delphia, most  of  them  persons  of  competent  estates ;  but 
the  situation  of  their  country,  in  the  possession  of  the 
enemy's  forces,  rendering  it  impossible  for  them  to  com- 
mand money,  they  found  themselves  in  very  distressing  cir- 
cumstances at  that  period. 

Upon  our  settlement  in  the  country  my  husband  turned 
his  attention  to  agriculture  with  all  the  enthusiasm  natural 
to  his  character,  and  in  a  little  time  the  improved  state  of 
his  farm  attracted  general  notice.  I  think  I  never  saw  finer 
fields  of  clover  and  timothy  than  were  at  that  time  to  be 
seen  at  Stenton ;  he  was  also  one  of  the  first  who  used  gyp- 
sum as  a  manure,  and  its  success  at  the  beginning  was  won- 
derful. Perhaps  at  no  period  of  his  life  did  he  experience 
greater  happiness  than  at  this,  his  intervals  of  leisure  being 
employed  in  reading  authors  of  the  greatest  utility  in  agri- 
cultural and  political  science,  and  he  was  one  of  the  fore- 
most and  most  zealous  advocates  in  whatever  he  thought 
would  promote  the  public  good.  The  Agricultural  Society 
of  Philadelphia  and  a  similar  one  for  the  county  were  among 
those  objects  ;  that  for  the  county  was  first  brought  together 
at  Stenton.  He  invited  a  number  of  gentlemen  of  the 
vicinity  to  dine  with  him,  and  they  conversed  upon  the  sub- 
ject, fixed  upon  the  officers  of  the  society  and  the  place  of 
their  future  meetings,  and,  until  a  baneful  party  spirit  (which 
afterwards  inundated  the  country)  spread  its  unhappy  effects 
over  the  minds  of  the  members  of  this  little  society,  it  might 
truly  be  said  to  be  productive  of  both  pleasure  and  improve- 

43 


nDemotr  of  S>r.  (5eorge  Xoaan 


ment  to  those  who  composed  it.  Domestic  manufactures, 
rightly  so  called  from  being  indeed  the  production  of  the 
farmers'  families,  were  a  favourite  object  of  their  encourage- 
ment ;  and  this  gave  scope  to  the  ingenuity  and  industry  of 
their  wives  and  introduced  us  in  a  social  and  pleasant  man- 
ner to  one  another's  acquaintance.  I  have  not  forgotten  the 
agreeable  interchange  of  visits,  the  beneficial  emulation,  and 
the  harmless  pride  with  which  we  exhibited  specimens  of 
our  industry  and  good  management  to  each  other.  The 
spinning-wheel  was  going  in  every  house,  and  it  was  a  high 
object  of  our  ambition  to  see  our  husbands  and  their  fami- 
lies clothed  in  our  own  manufactures  (a  good  practice  which 
my  honoured  husband  never  relinquished),  and  to  produce 
at  our  social  dinner  parties  the  finest  ale  of  our  own  brew- 
ing, the  best  home-made  wines,  cheese,  and  other  articles 
which  we  thought  ought  to  be  made  among  ourselves  rather 
than  imported  from  abroad.  But  this  useful  and  pleasant 
harmony  was  destined  to  be  interrupted  by  that  baneful 
spirit  of  party  which  soon  afterwards  nearly  destroyed  the 
comfort  of  all  social  society. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  his  reputation  as  a  skilful 
agriculturalist  procured  for  him  the  grateful  favour  of  a  visit 
from  the  "  Father  of  his  Country,"  then  in  Philadelphia, 
officiating  as  President  of  the  Federal  convention.  He 
came  with  his  friend  Daniel  Jennifer,  Esq.,  of  Maryland, 
who  had  often  before  been  with  us,  and  passed  a  day  at 
Stenton  in  the  most  social  and  friendly  manner  imaginable, 
delighted  with  the  fine  grass-land  and  beautiful  experi- 
ments with  gypsum,  some  of  which  plainly  showed  initials 
and  words  traced  with  it  upon  the  sod  of  a  far  richer  hue 

44 


(memoir  of  Dr.  (Beorse  OLogan 


and  thickness  than  the  surrounding  grass,  and  other  sub- 
jects of  rural  economy  which  Dr.  Logan  then  had  to  show. 
His  praise  conferred  distinction.  Nor  did  he  make  me  less 
happy  by  his  pleasing  attention  to  myself  and  his  kind 
notice  of  my  children,  whom  he  caressed  in  the  most  en- 
dearing manner,  placing  my  little  boy  on  his  knee,  and 
taking  my  infant  in  his  arms  with  commendations  that  made 
their  way  immediately  to  a  mother's  heart. 

I  had  always  looked  up  to  General  Washington  from  the 
first  time  that  I  ever  heard  his  auspicious  name  as  a  rare 
and  perfect  pattern  of  the  dignity  to  which  man  might 
attain  by  living  up  to  the  laws  of  virtue  and  honour,  and 
now  that  I  beheld  the  colossal  greatness  at  nearer  view,  I 
perceived  it  polished  and  adorned  with  all  the  amenity 
and  gentleness  which  delights  and  endears  in  domestic 
society.* 

*  When  General  Washington  was  passing  down  with  his  army  in  August, 
1777  (then  suffering  under  almost  every  privation),  to  intercept  the 
British  armament  who  were  on  the  coast,  and  about  this  time  had  landed 
at  the  head  of  Elk  in  Maryland,  the  General  with  his  staff  (about 
twenty  officers  and  their  servants)  stopped  at  Stenton,  then  unoccupied 
by  the  family,  where  his  guards  and  an  aide-de-camp  had  arrived  before 
him  and  where  they  all  took  up  their  quarters  for  that  night.  The  Gen- 
eral arrived  about  noon,  and  at  three  they  dined  on  a  sheep  they  had 
bought  of  the  tenant  and  killed  and  prepared  immediately.  One  of  the 
family  who  was  accidentally  there  remarked  that  they  were  all  exceed- 
ingly civil  and  very  quiet,  and  that  the  General  himself  appeared  ex- 
tremely grave  and  thoughtful,  and  was  very  silent. 

He  remembered  this  day's  gloom  and  uncertainty  when  he  was  after- 
wards here  at  the  time  he  was  President  of  the  Federal  convention,  at  a 
period  when,  with  the  blessing  of  heaven,  he  and  his  compatriots  in 
arms  had  driven  the  cruel  invader  from  our  land,  and  had  obtained  for  its 

45 


flDemotr  of  Dr.  (Beorge  Xogan 


When  Dr.  Logan  was  selected  by  his  fellow-citizens  to 
represent  them  in  the  Legislature  of  the  State  he  was 
exceedingly  desirous  to  discharge  his  duty  to  them  in  the 
most  honest  and  conscientious  manner,  and  with  this  in- 
tention he  devoted  all  his  leisure  to  the  reading  of  such 
authors  as  he  thought  had  thrown  most  light  upon  political 
science.  I  remember  among  these  a  quarto  volume  of 
Cumberland,  Bishop  of  Peterborough,  and  in  French  the 
works  of  Turgot,  and,  I  think,  Du  Trone  and  Riviere.  He 
read  Neckar,  but  saw  vanity  and  ambition  strongly  linked 
with  his  good  qualities. 

In  reading  "The  Wealth  of  Nations,'-  which  he  justly  ap- 
preciated without  approving  of  all  which  the  author  has 
advanced,  he  told  me  of  what  Dr.  Franklin  had  related  to 
him  of  Adam  Smith,  with  whom  he  was  well  acquainted. 
When  writing  that  celebrated  work,  he  was  in  the  habit  of 
taking  the  chapters  as  he  composed  them  to  his  literary 
friends,  and  submitting  the  work  to  their  inspection  and 
criticism.  He  often  availed  himself  of  the  benefit  of  their 
remarks,  so  as  to  rewrite  chapters  and  reverse  proposi- 

inhabitants  liberty  and  independence.  The'  temple  of  Janus  shut  and 
their  swords  and  spears  (except  those  sacred  ones  laid  on  the  altar  for 
"self-defence")  converted  into  ploughshares  and  pruning-hooks  (beauti- 
fully exemplified  in  this  being  an  agricultural  visit),  for  here  he  saw  the 
rescued  fields  verdant  with  cultivation  and  the  inhabitants  resting  under 
their  own  vines  and  fig-trees.  Still  this  truly  great  and  good  man's  mind 
was  labouring  to  fix  and  make  permanent  the  liberty  and  blessings  which 
they  had  achieved  by  wise  institutions  and  wholesome  laws.  With  the 
purest  halo  of  unsullied  glory  he  lived  and  moved  through  the  rest  of  his 
mortal  career,  and  descended  to  the  tomb  a  blessing  and  a  consecrated  ex- 
ample to  the  latest  posterity.  Could  such  a  man  have  been  calumniated  ? 

46 


flllcmotr  of  E)r.  (Beorge  Xogan 


tions.  Dr.  Franklin  said  he  frequently  brought  it  to  him- 
self and  Dr.  Price. 

He  always  was  in  the  habit  of  marking  the  passages 
which  he  thought  best  or  most  remarkable  in  the  books 
which  he  read.  And  such  were  his  principles  that,  although 
he  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  zealous  of  the  Repub- 
lican party,  they  always  led  him  to  an  honest  advocacy  and 
avowal  of  every  act  which  tended  to  insure  the  public  good, 
let  it  originate  where  it  might :  his  own  side  of  the  house 
could  never  count  upon  his  vote  for  a  merely  party  pur- 
pose, and  the  numbers  of  their  opponents  were  not  un- 
frequently  augmented  by  his  name  when  the  sanction  of  an 
advantage  to  the  Commonwealth  was  clearly  discernible  in 
their  measures.  There  are  a  few  now  living,  as  well  as 
myself,  who  can  remember  with  what  earnestness  he  en- 
deavoured to  discharge  his  duty  to  the  public  in  every  way. 
He  was  exceedingly  desirous  that  the  best  system  of  public 
education  should  be  adopted  in  the  State,  and  took  great 
pains  at  different  sessions  of  the  Legislature  to  secure  this 
desirable  object,  and  I  never  saw  him  more  displeased  and 
mortified  when,  from  the  wish  to  oppose  what  was  assumed 
to  be  a  party  object  in  some  and  parsimony  in  others,  he 
found  his  well-meant  intentions  frustrated. 

And  in  private  life  he  was  most  benevolent  and  humane, 
seeking  to  do  good  wherever  he  had  an  opportunity,  one 
instance  of  which,  just  occurring  to  my  recollection,  I  will 
insert. 

He  had  taken  into  his  service  as  a  labourer  a  young  man, 
who  boarded  in  the  family  but  was  to  lodge  with  some 
of  his  own  relations,  who,  as  well  as  himself,  had  recently 

47 


flUemoir  of  Br.  (Beorge  Xogan 


come  into  the  neighbourhood.  He  was  consequently  a 
stranger  to  us,  and  without  recommendations,  but  of  a 
modest  and  prepossessing  appearance. 

He  worked  very  satisfactorily  to  my  husband  for  a  week, 
and  then  absented  himself.  Upon  inquiry,  it  was  found  he 
was  sick.  Dr.  Logan  visited  him,  and  found  him  ill  of  a 
fever  of  no  common  virulence.  He  questioned  him,  and, 
after  a  little  reflection,  asked  him  if  he  had  ever  had  the 
small-pox.  The  young  man  answered  in  the  negative.  And, 
upon  Dr.  Logan  saying  that  he  believed  he  was  sick  of  that 
disease,  his  relations,  extremely  alarmed,  rushed  out  of  the 
house,  for  they,  also,  were  subject  to  its  malignant  attack. 

Dr.  Logan  saw  there  was  but  one  course  to  take  to  give 
the  poor  young  fellow  a  chance  of  recovery.  He  immedi- 
ately sent  for  him  to  Stenton,  where  every  attention  and 
kindness  were  shown  to  him  until  he  ultimately  recovered, 
Dr.  Logan  remaining  altogether  at  home  to  watch  the  prog- 
ress of  the  disease  and  to  oppose  its  direful  influence  with 
his  best  skill  and  ability.  It  was  altogether  of  a  most  dele- 
terious and  confluent  kind,  but,  by  the  blessing  of  God  on 
his  anxious  and  judicious  attentions,  the  patient,  after  a 
severe  struggle  with  the  pest,  recovered,  and  this  "good 
Samaritan"  had  the  satisfaction  of  delivering  him  conva- 
lescent to  his  father,  a  respectable  inhabitant  of  one  of  the 
remote  counties  of  the  State,  whose  paternal  roof  he  had 
left  in  a  moment  of  inconsiderate  vexation,  and  who,  ap- 
prised of  his  son's  danger  by  their  relations,  had  come 
down,  on  his  account,  with  a  fine  team  of  horses  and  every 
appearance  of  substantial  circumstances. 

We  did  not  suffer  his  departure  until  his  restoration  to 

48 


nDemoit  of  5>r.  (Beorge  Slogan 


health  and  the  danger  of  his  communicating  the  disease  to 
others  was  removed.  The  old  man  seemed  quite  over- 
whelmed with  a  sense  of  the  kindness  and  generosity  with 
which  his  son  had  been  treated.* 

*  It  was  remarkable  that  the  young  man  had  never  seen  any  person  in 
the  disease,  nor  ever  had  been,  to  his  knowledge,  where  it  was,  so  that  he 
must  have  received  it  from  some  latent  infection.  The  disease  was  not  in 
our  neighbourhood,  and  was  thought  to  be  extinct  in  Philadelphia,  being 
the  spring  after  the  great  yellow  fever  of  1793,  when  inoculation  had  been 
omitted  on  account  of  the  situation  of  the  city.  A  great  many  medical 
gentlemen  came  to  Stenton  to  obtain  the  variolous  matter  from  this 
patient.  Charles  Norris  was  inoculated  from  it,  and  had  the  disease  very 
favourably. 


49 


CHAPTER  III 

2>r.  Slogan's  political  Diews— Me  Embarfes  on  a  {mission 

to  ftance 

Y  husband's  friendship  with  Thomas  Jefferson  be- 
gan soon  after  the  formation  of  the  federal  gov- 
ernment. When  that  gentleman  was  Secretary 
of  State  he  used  frequently  to  visit  us  in  a  social  and  inti- 
mate manner,  sometimes  with  small  parties  whose  company 
was  agreeable  to  one  another  and  sometimes  alone.  His 
conversation  was  very  pleasing. 

He  had  resided  at  the  Court  of  France,  and  upon  his  re- 
turn appeared  in  somewhat  of  its  costume,  and  wore  a  suit 
of  silk,  ruffles,  and  an  elegant  topaz  ring ;  but  he  soon 
adopted  a  more  republican  garb,  and  was  reproached  with 
going  to  the  other  extreme  as  a  bait  for  popularity.  He 
abounded  in  anecdotes  of  great  interest,  and  it  appeared  to 
me  that  he  did  not  often  suffer  political  prejudice  or  party 
spirit  to  warp  his  judgment  and  cause  him  to  misrepresent 
men  and  things  ;  yet  I  saw  that  he  wanted  sincerity  towards 
General  Washington,  whom  I  had  always  revered,  and  could 
not  bear  to  hear  mentioned  in  terms  that  implied  the  smallest 
diminution  of  his  character  or  qualities,  though  aware  that  it 
is  not  among  contemporaries  that  the  most  exalted  persons 
can  hope  for  this  exemption.  I  could  not  bear  that  any  suspi- 
cion whatever  should  be  attached  to  the  purity  of  his  motives, 
and  I  well  remember  how  I  was  shocked  when  I  first  discov- 
ered the  disaffection  which  was  manifesting  itself  against  him. 

50 


nnemoit  of  Dr.  0eor$e 


Jefferson  told  us  of  the  surprise  and  displeasure  which 
the  President  evinced  upon  the  first  abuse  of  his  measures 
in  Freneau's  paper.  He  said  that  the  cabinet  was  to 
have  been  convened,  but  that  the  President  was  too  much 
agitated  to  meet  them  that  evening;  that  he  found  him 
walking  the  room  in  a  disturbed  manner  with  the  paper 
in  his  hand,  which  he  presented  to  the  Secretary  with  ex- 
pressions of  surprise  and  indignation. 

Jefferson  knew  but  too  well  who  had  caused  it  to  appear. 
But  even  when  party  spirit  was  at  its  greatest  height  my 
husband  preserved  a  high  respect  for  the  President,  and  I 
believe  never  either  said  or  wrote  anything  derogatory  to 
this  truly  great  man. 

The  breaking  out  of  the  French  Revolution  caused  an 
excitement  commensurate  with  its  importance,  and  was 
doubtless  the  cause  of  that  violent  effervescence  in  the  pub- 
lic mind  which,  operating  on  the  prejudices  and  passions  of 
men  not  yet  subdued  after  our  own  contest  for  indepen- 
dence, produced  a  degree  of  party  spirit  which  seemed  at 
one  period  to  threaten  the  safety  of  the  Commonwealth. 

The  arrival  of  Citizen  Genet  was  the  signal  for  every  one 
to  arrange  himself  according  to  the  principles  he  advocated. 
That  France  had  great  claims  on  the  sympathy  of  the  peo- 
ple of  the  United  States  none  will  attempt  to  deny,  nor  as 
little  that  at  the  time  we  are  speaking  of  there  still  existed 
at  least  a  part  of  that  generation  who  had,  prior  to  our  own 
Revolution,  regarded  France  as  a  common  enemy,  and  con- 
nected with  her  national  character  that  of  craft,  cruelty,  and 
perfidiousness,  which  had  been  formed  in  their  minds  from 
the  conduct  of  the  French  themselves  to  these  colonies 


flRemotr  of  Br.  (Beorge  Xogan 


during  former  wars  when  we  dreaded  her  plans  of  aggres- 
sion and  aggrandizement,  and  regarded  her  people  as  only 
fit  to  be  the  willing  slaves  of  despotism.  Persons  who  enter- 
tained these  sentiments  seemed  astonished  and  even  angry 
that  the  people  of  France  should  wish  to  be  partakers  of 
the  blessings  of  liberty  and  aim  at  establishing  a  free  con- 
stitution. 

That  the  revolution  of  France  grew  out  of  that  of 
America  cannot  be  controverted.  Their  statesmen  and 
philosophers  were  at  first  eager  auditors  of  the  speeches 
and  appeals  which  had  been  given  to  the  world  during  the 
contest,  and  when  the  light  which  these  elicited  threw  its 
beams  also  upon  foreign  despotism  their  animosity  towards 
England,  which  made  them  exult  in  the  prospect  of  weaken- 
ing her  by  the  separation  of  her  colonies,  blinded  them  at 
the  same  time  to  the  latent  energies  of  the  infant  Hercules 
and  the  certainty  that  its  adolescence  would  strangle  other 
serpents  than  those  which  sought  its  destruction  in  the 
cradle. 

And  yet  methinks  they  might  have  augured  from  its  first 
aspirations  the  strength  of  that  power  which  in  time  would 
free  the  earth  from  all  the  monsters  of  misrule  and  op- 
pression. 

But  I  only  mean  to  represent  facts  and  to  let  speculations 
upon  them  alone.  Dr.  Logan  was  accused  of  enthusiasm 
in  this  cause,  and  I  shall  not,  do  not,  attempt  to  say  that  he 
did  not  feel  enthusiasm,  for  who  has  ever  effected  anything 
great  or  noble  on  the  theatre  of  human  affairs  without  some 
portion  of  this  commanding  passion  ? 

Yet  to  show  how  prejudice  perverts  and  misrepresents 

52 


flflemotr  of  Dr.  (Beorse  Xogan 


men  and  things,  I  may  just  say  that  at  the  very  time  when 
the  heads  of  the  Republican  party  were  accused  by  their  op- 
ponents of  being  ready  to  sacrifice  the  best  interests  of  the 
community  to  France,  I  have  myself  been  present  at  some 
of  their  confidential  conversations  *  and  can  witness  that 
although  they  were  greatly  mistaken  in  their  opinion  of  the 
fitness  of  France  to  assume  the  cap  and  the  mantle  of 
liberty,  yet  they  never  wished  to  put  it  in  her  power  to 
arbitrate  upon  the  least  right  appertaining  to  their  own 
country.  On  the  contrary,  I  have  heard  Jefferson  remon- 

*  I  have  often  had  to  regret  that  I  did  not  at  the  time  so  fully  appre- 
ciate the  advantages  which  I  have  frequently  enjoyed  of  listening  to  the 
conversation  of  very  eminent  and  highly  gifted  men,  and  noticing  the  pro- 
found and  instructive  remarks  which  have  often  been  made  in  my  hearing, 
which,  however,  soon  fade  from  the  memory  unless  committed  to  writing. 
But  I  have  not  forgotten  the  force  and  expansion  of  Jefferson's  arguments, 
delivered  in  a  beautiful  simplicity  of  language  and  a  politeness  of  manner 
that  disarmed  offence,  yet  with  a  strength  that  defied  refutation  when  rea- 
son was  admitted  to  sit  as  judge. 

One  of  these  conversations,  I  remember,  ended  with  Genet's  rising 
from  his  chair,  where  he  had  been  seated  under  the  venerable  trees  that 
surround  our  dwelling,  and,  baffled  in  argument,  but  retaining  his  good 
humour  and  gentlemanly  demeanour,  he  exclaimed  in  his  (then)  imperfect 
English, — 

"Well,  gentlemen,  if  my  country  were  once  happily  settled  in  peace 
and  the  enjoyment  of  her  rights  as  yours  is  now  I  would  sit  under  my  own 
vine  and  trees  as  you  do ;  but  I  would  disclaim  political  disquisitions  alto- 
gether. I  would  never  suffer  a  gazette  to  enter  my  house. ' ' 

Genet  was  very  pleasing  in  his  address  and  manners,  but  the  political 
offences  which  he  committed  against  the  government  and  people  of  these 
States  cannot  be  palliated,  nor  ought  I  to  omit  that  my  husband  saw  the 
presumption  of  his  conduct  towards  the  government  of  this  country  in  the 
same  light  that  her  best  citizens  beheld  it. 

53 


flUemotr  of  E>r.  (Beorge  Slogan 


strate  with  Genet  on  the  rashness  and  impropriety  of  his 
conduct,  and  insist  upon  the  inviolability  of  those  eternal 
principles  of  justice  to  other  nations  and  respect  for  their 
rights,  to  which  it  had  been  well  for  France  and  the  world 
had  she  adhered. 

A  state  of  society  followed  destructive  of  the  ties  which 
in  ordinary  times  bind  one  class  of  citizens  to  another,  and 
nourishing  every  bad  passion  of  our  nature.  Malignity 
and  detraction,  hatred,  cruelty,  and  revenge  showed  much 
more  of  their  hideous  aspects  than  the  quiet  inhabitants  of 
these  States  had  been  accustomed  to  contemplate. 

The  dominant  party  scorned  any  longer  to  affect  even  the 
appearance  of  moderation  towards  their  opponents.  Not 
only  the  public  acts  of  the  Legislature  were  framed  to  keep 
them  in  awe,  but  in  the  common  offices  and  affairs  of  life 
they  were  proscribed.  Friendships  were  dissolved,  trades- 
men dismissed,  and  custom  withdrawn  from  the  Republican 
party,  the  heads  of  which,  as  objects  of  the  most  injurious 
suspicion,  were  recommended  to  be  closely  watched,  and 
committees  of  Federalists  were  appointed  for  that  purpose. 

Many  gentlemen  went  armed  that  they  might  be  ready  to 
resent  any  personal  aggression.  In  the  midst  of  this  state  of 
things  my  husband  formed  the  project  of  his  visit  to  France, 
with  what  then  appeared  to  me  the  romantic  idea  of  persuad- 
ing the  rulers  of  that  arrogant  government  to  alter  the  tone 
of  their  conduct  towards  the  United  States.  He  thought 
they  were  not  aware  of  our  growing  importance,  and  that 
the  rashness  and  injustice  of  their  measures  towards  us 
would  be  the  means  of  uniting  us  with  Great  Britain  and 
forwarding  the  views  of  the  enemies  of  all  republics. 

54 


flflemoir  of  Dr.  0eorge 


The  recollection  is  still  vivid  of  the  slanders  and  obloquy 
that  were  heaped  upon  all  those  professing  the  political 
opinions  which  he  held,  and  perhaps  no  individual  except 
Jefferson  himself  (and  he  was  thought  less  daring)  was  re- 
garded with  such  jealous  suspicion.  It  seemed  as  if  the 
crimes  and  horrors  which  the  infuriated  demons  in  France 
had  committed  under  the  abused  name  of  Liberty  were  at- 
tributed to  the  assertors  of  her  cause  in  every  country. 

No  one  could  more  sincerely  deplore  these  excesses  than 
did  Dr.  Logan ;  but  he  still  hoped  when  those  ferocious 
monsters  were  put  down  that  their  successors  in  the  gov- 
ernment would  act  with  wisdom  and  moderation  ;  and  such 
an  expectation,  or  even  such  a  wish,  approached,  in  the  esti- 
mation of  their  enemies,  to  a  participation  of  the  guilt  which 
they  thought  the  whole  nation  had  incurred  by  the  excesses 
committed,  never  to  be  enough  deplored. 

And  though  he  was  thus  put  under  surveillance,  and  a 
committee  appointed  to  watch  and  report  his  actions,  yet 
they  seemed,  by  the  stir  and  surprise  which  his  departure 
occasioned,  to  have  had  no  idea  of  the  step  he  was  about  to 
take,  although  part  of  his  preparation  was  the  selling  of 
property  for  funds  to  undertake  the  voyage. 

He  was  fully  aware  of  the  misrepresentations  to  which 
his  conduct  would  be  liable,  and,  from  the  violence  with 
which  federalism  at  that  period  assailed  its  opponents, 
could  hope  for  no  quarter  in  case  of  a  deviation  from  the 
most  perfect  prudence.  He  thought  it  best,  therefore,  by  a 
solemn  legal  act  to  empower  me  to  dispose  of  his  estate  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  secure  it  from  confiscation ;  and  going 
to  the  chief  justice  of  Pennsylvania  in  order  to  acknowledge 

55 


flllemotr  of  Br*  George  Xogan 


the  power  of  attorney,  informed  him  of  his  views  and  in- 
tentions. "Thank  God,"  exclaimed  the  venerable  magis- 
trate, "  that  we  possess  one  man  who  is  capable  and  devoted 
enough  to  undertake  this  task !  You  have  my  best  wishes 
in  the  enterprise."  And,  filling  out  the  wine,  he  drank  to  its 
success,  furnishing  Dr.  Logan  at  the  same  time  with  the  fol- 
lowing simple  certificate  of  citizenship  : 

"STATE  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

"  To  all  whom  it  may  concern,  the  underwritten  Chief  Justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  certifies,  that 
George  Logan,  of  the  county  of  Philadelphia,  farmer,  is  a  native-born 
citizen  of  the  United  States  of  America,  has  for  several  years  been  a 
worthy  Representative  for  the  said  county  of  Philadelphia  in  the  Legis- 
lature of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  and  is  well  known  to  him.  Given 
under  the  hand  and  seal  of  the  said  Chief  Justice,  at  Philadelphia,  the 
eleventh  day  of  June,  in  the  year  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety- 
eight. 

"THO  M:  KEAN." 

And  I  likewise  here  subjoin  a  copy  of  that  which  was 
given  to  him  by  his  friend  Thomas  Jefferson  upon  the  same 
occasion  : 

"  I,  Thomas  Jefferson,  do  hereby  certify  that  George  Logan,  the  bearer 
hereof,  who  is  about  to  visit  Europe  on  matters  of  business,  is  a  citizen  of 
the  commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  and  United  States  of  America,  of 
one  of  the  most  antient  and  respectable  families  of  the  said  common- 
wealth, of  independent  fortune,  good  morals,  irreproachable  conduct, 
and  true  civism  ;  and  as  such  he  is  recommended  to  the  attention  of  all 
those  who,  from  principles  of  humanity,  or  a  desire  to  attach  to  their 
country  the  respect  of  others,  could  interest  themselves  in  seeing  the  pro- 
tection and  hospitality  of  their  laws  extended  to  a  worthy  and  unoffend- 
ing stranger  placed  under  their  safeguard.  Given  under  my  hand  and 
seal,  at  Philadelphia,  this  4th  day  of  June,  1798. 

"TH:  JEFFERSON." 
56 


flRemoir  of  2>r.  (5eor$e  Xogan 


I  never  could  tell  how  it  came  to  be  publicly  known  that 
Dr.  Logan  had  obtained  these  credentials  (for  from  our- 
selves it  assuredly  never  was),  yet  it  was  so,  and  the  gen- 
tlemen who  had  given  them  became  objects  of  the  most 
furious  obloquy.  Among  other  things,  it  was  said  in  the 
Federal  prints  that  it  was  believed  to  be  "  the  first  instance 
where  the  chief  judge  of  any  place  had  furnished  creden- 
tials to  a  traitor." 

At  length,  after  having  disposed  of  two  parcels  of  real 
estate  very  cheaply  in  order  to  obtain  funds  to  undertake 
the  voyage,  and  previous  to  his  departure  to  pay  off  all 
his  debts,  on  the  1 2th  of  June,  1798,  he  left  me  and  his 
children,  and  his  pleasant  home  at  Stenton,  and  embarked 
on  board  the  "  Iris,"  a  neutral  vessel  bound  for  Hamburg. 
He  took  with  him  but  two  letters  from  Citizen  Le  Tomb, 
the  French  consul,  one  addressed  to  Merlin,  at  that  time 
chief  of  the  Directory  of  the  French  Republic,  and  the 
other  to  the  celebrated  Talleyrand  Perigord,  a  character 
who  has  seemed  to  be  possessed  of  a  political  life-boat  with 
which  he  has  in  safety  ridden  on  the  tremendous  surges  of 
the  Revolution,  and  whom  Dr.  Logan  did  not  know  during 
his  retreat  in  this  country.* 

*  Talleyrand  followed  the  example  of  one  of  the  courtiers  of  Henry 
VIII.  of  England,  who,  upon  being  questioned  how  he  had  kept  his 
place  through  so  many  changes,  replied,  "  By  imitating  the  willow,  not 
the  oak."  He  had  bent  to  circumstances,  and  presented  the  first  address 
from  Paris  to  the  restored  Bourbons. 

When  he  was  in  this  country,  some  years  ago,  he  spent  a  week  at  the 
seat  of  a  gentleman  from  whose  family  I  had  the  account ;  he  spent  much 
of  his  time  in  his  own  chamber,  and  apologized  to  the  family  for  his 
5  57 


flUetnoir  of  2>r.  (Bcoroe  Slogan 


Were  it  proper  here  to  speak  of  myself,  I  could  say  a 
great  deal,  with  the  strictest  truth,  of  the  infinite  anxiety  of 
mind  which  I  underwent  at  this  period.  I  knew  the  full  ex- 
tent of  the  enmity  which  his  opposition  to  the  views  of  gov- 
ernment had  excited,  and  though  buoyed  above  certain  fears 
by  a  knowlege  of  the  purity  of  his  motives  and  his  inflexible 
patriotism,  yet  I  could  scarcely  have  dared  to  hope  that  his 
conduct  would  have  been  altogether  so  guarded  that  those 
who  were  on  the  watch  for  his  failure  could  find  nothing  to 
take  hold  of. 

I  would  not  wish  to  revive  in  my  own  breast,  or  in  those 
who  read  my  narrative,  any  sparks  of  that  inflammable  and 
deleterious  party  spirit  that  mounted  triumphant  over  every 
other  consideration,  in  the  times  of  which  I  now  treat,  but 
I  think,  notwithstanding  all  the  efficient  causes  which  ex- 
isted, great  pains  had  been  taken  somewhere  to  exalt  it  to 
the  height  which  it  had  then  gained,  among  which  the  in- 
trigues and  insinuations  of  that  arch-intriguer  Listen  (the 
British  minister)  were  none  of  the  least.  He  was  a  master 
in  such  business,  none  sent  from  that  court  to  this  country 
having  ever  equalled  him  in  those  qualities. 

Although,  as  I  have  said,  I  knew  the  purity  of  my  hus- 
band's principles,  and  could  appreciate  the  motives  upon 
which  he  acted,  yet  when  the  time  drew  near  that  he  was  to 
leave  me,  I  could  not  help  being  appalled  with  a  sense  of 
the  difficulties  which  he  would  have  to  surmount,  and  the 

frequent  absences  by  observing  that  this  time  was  dedicated  to  his  private 
devotion. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  his  fame  will  go  down  to  posterity  in  its  true 
colours. 

58 


flilemoir  of  S>r.  (Beorge  Xogan 


clamour  which  would  be  raised  upon  his  departure ;  so  that, 
when  he  left  me  indeed,  I  was  as  completely  miserable  as  I 
could  be  whilst  innocent  myself  and  united  to  a  man  whose 
honour  I  knew  to  be  without  a  stain.  But  I  found  it  neces- 
sary, by  a  strong  effort,  to  control  my  feelings.  As  soon 
as  his  committee  of  surveillance  missed  their  charge  there 
was  a  prodigious  stir  in  the  city ;  *  they  looked  upon  each 

*  I  was  credibly  informed  by  a  friendly  Federalist  that  it  was  contem- 
plated by  government  to  search  our  house  for  treasonable  papers,  and  ad- 
vised, if  I  knew  of  anything  that  would  implicate  my  husband,  to  destroy 
it.  I  thanked  the  gentleman  for  his  kindness,  but  assured  him,  in  case  of 
a  search,  they  would  only  have  to  regret  that  they  had  insulted  a  man  of 
honour  in  his  absence.  I  had  nothing  to  secrete. 

One  of  the  consignees  of  the  "Iris"  in  Philadelphia,  Isaac  Hazlehurst, 
Esq.,  said  that  if  he  had  known  of  Dr.  Logan's  intention  of  going  in  that 
vessel  he  would  have  prevented  it,  so  great  was  the  excitement  of  the  times. 

Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  temper  of  the  times,  when  I  add,  that 
the  late  Dr.  Rush  (a  worthy  man,  but  often  erroneous  in  his  conclusions) 
suffered  himself  to  be  one  of  this  committee,  as  he  afterwards  acknowledged 
to  Dr.  Logan  himself  with  some  circumstances  that  I  suppress  because  they 
might  look  as  if  I  remembered  what  is  best  forgotten,  and  also  by  the  fol- 
lowing article,  copied  out  of  Brown's  Philadelphia  Gazette  of  the  date  of 
this  time : 

"  COMMUNICATION. 

"  We  are  assured  from  the  best  authority,  that  Doctor  Logan  (a  noted 
and  violent  democrat)  departed  from  this  city  on  Wednesday  or  Thursday 
last,  in  the  ship  '  Iris,'  for  Hamburgh,  on  his  route  to  Paris.  There  can- 
not be  the  least  question  but  the  Doctor,  from  his  inordinate  love  of  French 
liberty,  and  hatred  to  the  sacred  constitution  of  the  United  States,  has  gone 
to  the  French  directory,  fraught  with  intelligence  of  the  most  dangerous 
tendency  to  this  country.  The  secrecy  of  his  intention  (for  his  very  linen 
was  made  up  out  of  his  own  house)  and  his  visit  by  daybreak  on  the  day 
of  his  departure  to  Le  Tomb,  the  late  French  consul,  announce  that,  his 

59 


{memoir  of  H)r.  (Beorge 


other  with  blank  faces,  as  having  suffered  an  adroit  enemy 
to  escape  their  vigilance. 

I  shall  not  make  any  comment  on  this,  nor  the  subsequent 
attacks  that  were  made  upon  my  husband's  character,  but 
trust  that  his  own  statement  of  the  motives  which  induced 
him  to  undertake  this  novel  and  perilous  business,  as  ex- 
pressed in  an  exposition  of  his  conduct  soon  after  his  return, 
will  be  more  satisfactory  than  any  defence  which  it  would  be 
in  my  power  to  offer,  and  shall  be  given  in  its  proper  place. 

abandonment  of  wife,  children,  relatives  and  country,  is  a  species  of  con- 
spiracy, most  fatal  to  freedom,  and  abhorrent  to  humanity.  For  can  any 
sensible  man  hesitate  to  suspect  that  his  infernal  design  can  be  anything 
less,  than  the  introduction  of  a  French  army,  to  teach  us  the  genuine  value 
of  true  6°  essential  liberty  by  re-organizing  our  government,  through  the 
brutal  operation  of  the  bayonet  and  guillotine.  Let  every  American  now 
gird  on  his  sword.  The  times  are  not  only  critical,  but  the  secret  of  the 
Junto  is  out.  Their  demagogue  is  gone  to  the  directory,  for  purposes 
destructive  of  your  lives,  property,  liberty  and  holy  religion" 


60 


CHAPTER  IV 


4^  I  'HE  "Iris"  had  a  safe  passage,  but  she  was  a  dull 
111  sailer,  and  the  captain  (a  phlegmatic  Dutchman) 
very  cautious  of  availing  himself  of  a  favourable 
breeze,  if  it  happened  to  blow  in  the  night.  They  left  Phila- 
delphia on  the  1 3th  of  June  and  arrived  at  Hamburg  on  the 
23d  of  July.  Nothing  very  remarkable  occurred  during  the 
passage  until  they  reached  the  English  Channel ;  they  did 
not  meet  an  armed  vessel  of  any  kind,  and  the  channel  itself 
they  found  full  of  Danes,  Swedes,  and  other  neutrals,  profit- 
ing by  their  neutrality  and  peaceably  navigating  the  seas, 
which  made  Dr.  Logan  exceedingly  regret  the  mistaken 
policy  of  our  own  government  in  suffering  a  sequestration 
of  her  national  rights  by  Great  Britain,  thereby  rendering 
the  navigation  of  her  vessels  insecure. 

Dr.  Logan  went  on  shore  and  dined  at  Dover;  he  re- 
marked that  the  coast  seemed  to  be  lined  with  soldiers,  and 
above  three  thousand  were  garrisoned  in  the  castle.  Had 
Mr.  Pitt  known  the  character  of  his  guest,  and  what  he  was 
about  to  effect,  it  is  not  to  be  doubted  but  that  he  would 
have  violated  the  laws  of  hospitality  in  his  person,  as  he  had 
before  done  those  of  the  neutrality  of  his  country. 

Immediately  upon  his  arrival  in  Hamburg,  Dr.  Logan 
waited  on  the  French  charge  d'affaires  to  request  a  pass- 
port to  go  to  Paris,  when  he  was  informed  that  he  had 
received  the  most  pointed  instructions  from  their  govern- 

61 


flflemoir  of  2>r.  <5eor$e 


ment  not  to  permit  any  citizen  of  the  United  States  to 
enter  the  French  territory.  It  was  in  vain  that  he  urged 
the  necessity  of  his  errand,  and  that  he  had  letters  to  Mer- 
lin and  Talleyrand  from  the  French  consul  in  Philadelphia, 
interesting  not  only  to  America,  but  to  France  herself. 

They  said,  in  reply,  that  the  utmost  that  they  could  do 
in  this  case  was  to  forward  his  letters  to  the  Directory  of 
Foreign  Relations,  and  that  they  did  not  doubt  a  favourable 
result.  In  the  mean  time,  being  informed  that  General 
de  Lafayette  was  in  Hamburg,  Dr.  Logan  visited  him,  and 
gave  him  a  true  account  of  the  situation  of  the  United 
States,  the  rage  of  party  spirit,  and  the  danger  to  be 
apprehended  to  republican  principles  if  a  rupture  with 
France  as  a  republic,  and  a  coalition  with  England,  as 
leagued  against  her,  should  take  place. 

He  also  candidly  told  the  general  the  object  of  his  pres- 
ent visit  to  Europe,  which  was  to  try  if  he  could  influence 
the  government  of  France  to  defeat  the  machinations  of 
their  enemies  by  adopting  a  just  and  liberal  policy  towards 
the  United  States.  To  this  Lafayette  replied  that  he  was 
most  sincerely  attached  to  the  United  States,  that  he  had  for 
some  time  viewed  with  great  anxiety  the  misunderstanding 
which  had  taken  place  between  the  two  countries,  and  that 
he  considered  the  crisis  as  so  pressing  that  he  would  use 
all  his  influence  to  procure  a  passport  which  would  enable 
Dr.  Logan  immediately  to  pursue  his  journey  to  Paris.* 

*  The  Marquis  de  Lafayette  lived  at  that  time  a  few  miles  from  Ham- 
burg. Dr.  Logan  visited  him  at  his  residence,  and  was  delighted  with 
the  kindness  of  his  domestic  character  and  that  of  his  whole  family.  The 
health  of  Madame  de  Lafayette  had  suffered  much  from  her  voluntary 
confinement  with  her  excellent  husband  at  Olmiitz,  but  she  appeared  to 

62 


flDemotr  of  Dr.  <5eor$e  Xoaan 


The  Marquis  was  as  good  as  his  word,  and  succeeded 
in  convincing  the  Secretary  of  the  French  Legation  that 
he  would  be  justified  by  the  government  in  violating  its 
general  instructions  by  the  importance  of  the  occasion. 
The  necessary  passports  were  accordingly  made  out,  and 
Dr.  Logan  left  Hamburg  on  the  28th  of  July,  and  arrived 
in  Paris  (not  without  considerable  fatigue)  on  the  yth  of 
August,  1798. 

Upon  his  arrival,  he  found  that  Elbridge  Gerry,  Esq.,  the 
last  of  our  commissioners,  had  left  that  city,  and  probably 
was  on  his  voyage  to  the  United  States.  It  will  be  recol- 
lected that  he  had  prolonged  his  stay  beyond  that  of  his 
colleagues,  and  that  they  had  been  separately  as  well  as 
jointly  vested  with  the  power  of  making  a  treaty ;  to  exer- 
cise which  power  he  had  been  urged  by  the  French  govern- 
ment itself,  as  well  as  by  all  his  own  countrymen  in  Paris, 
who  represented  him  as  having  been  such  a  prey  to  anxiety 
of  mind  from  feelings  of  his  own  responsibility  and  the 
necessity  of  doing  something  to  avert  so  great  an  evil  as 
war,  and  the  fear  of  losing  his  popularity  at  home  by  dis- 
senting from  the  other  ministers  and  effecting  what  they  had 
failed  to  do,  so  that  his  health  had  suffered  severely ;  and 
they  thought  if  he  had  prolonged  his  stay,  with  such  inde- 
cision of  mind,  that  he  would  have  found  a  tomb  in  France. 

be  a  most  amiable,  affectionate  woman,  and  her  children  very  pleasing 
characters. 

It  has  often  been  a  satisfaction  to  me  to  reflect  that  this  good  man  and 
ardent  lover  of  liberty,  amidst  all  the  vicissitudes  of  his  eventful  life  and 
the  sufferings  so  unjustifiably  inflicted  upon  him  by  the  Emperor  of 
Austria,  had  yet  the  consolation  and  enjoyment  of  domestic  felicity. 

63 


fftemoir  of  Br.  (Beoroe  Xogan 


The  Consul-General  of  the  United  States  still  further 
informed  Dr.  Logan  that  an  embargo  had  been  recently 
laid  upon  all  our  shipping  in  French  ports,  and  that  many 
hundreds  of  our  seamen  were  confined  as  prisoners  ;  that  all 
negotiation  was  at  an  end,  and  that  no  opening  at  present 
was  to  be  discerned  which  would  admit  of  even  a  distant 
prospect  of  a  better  scene  of  things.  Barlow  and  all  the 
Americans  at  Paris  joined  in  making  the  like  statement. 

Notwithstanding  these  discouragements,  Dr.  Logan  now 
waited  on  Talleyrand,  the  Minister  of  the  Exterior,  with  the 
letter  which  Le  Tomb  had  given  him,  and  which  he  knew 
to  be  friendly  to  a  restoration  of  peace  between  the  two 
countries.  Citizen  Talleyrand  (as  he  was  then  called)  re- 
ceived him  with  great  politeness,  but  he  soon  found  this 
was  all  the  benefaction  which  he  meant  to  bestow,  and  that 
the  object  of  his  mission,  upon  which  he  was  now  more 
than  ever  intent,  would  not  be  at  all  advanced  by  repeated 
communications  with  him. 

He  was  also  aware  that  Adet,  who  had  been  minister  to 
the  United  States,  and  another  French  gentleman  of  higher 
position,  were  sent  by  Talleyrand  to  interrogate  him  in 
order  to  know  his  views  and  obtain  all  the  information 
which  they  could  draw  from  such  conferences. 

They  were  also  very  anxious  to  get  his  letter  for  Merlin 
into  their  hands,  which  they  repeatedly  offered  to  present, 
but  he  declined  giving  it  up  ;  and,  upon  Adet's  disap- 
pointing him  from  time  to  time  of  the  promised  intro- 
duction to  Merlin,  which  he  saw  Talleyrand  did  not  wish 
should  take  place,  he  resolved  to  find  another  usher  to  the 
presence  of  the  chief  Director,  and  accordingly  he  intro- 

64 


fIDcmotr  of  Br,  George 


duced  himself  to  M.  Schimmelpenninck,  the  Batavian  min- 
ister resident  at  Paris,  who  received  him  with  a  great  deal 
of  friendly  courtesy;  said  he  had  heard  of  his  arrival  in 
Europe,  and  wished  much  to  see  him ;  that  his  own  govern- 
ment was  exceedingly  desirous  that  amity  between  France 
and  the  United  States  should  be  fully  restored,  and  (I 
think)  he  said  he  was  empowered  to  offer  their  mediation 
for  that  purpose.  He  asked  Dr.  Logan  to  dine  with  him 
on  that  day,  and  appointed  the  next  for  his  introduction  to 
Merlin,  who,  it  will  be  recollected,  was  at  that  time  First  Di- 
rector of  the  French  Republic,  and  resided  in  one  of  the 
regal  palaces  in  great  state,  but  not  without  a  mixture  of 
what  was  in  their  idea  republican  simplicity.  Merlin  re- 
ceived them  very  well.  Dr.  Logan  presented  him  with  Le 
Tomb's  letter,  which  he  read,  and  said  he  should  be  glad  to 
have  some  conversation  with  him,  when  Schimmelpenninck 
withdrew  and  left  them  together.  At  the  close  of  their  con- 
ference he  invited  Dr.  Logan  to  dine  with  him  with  a  select 
company  the  next  day.* 

It  may  well  be  imagined  that  the  patriot  of  whom  I  write 
saw  with  great  satisfaction  the  points  which  he  had  gained 
whilst  he  laboured  to  convince  Merlin,  and  through  him  the 
government  of  France,  that  all  the  enmity  they  showed 

*  Among  the  foreigners  of  distinction  whom  Dr.  Logan  saw  at  Paris 
was  the  celebrated  Kosciusko,  whom  he  had  known  in  America.  This 
brave  man  received  him  with  the  most  distinguished  kindness,  warmly 
appreciated  his  motives,  and  approved  of  his  design,  which  he  promised 
to  support  with  all  his  interest,  but  cautioned  him  at  the  same  time  not  to 
repose  any  confidence  in  the  promises  of  the  French  government  of  what 
they  would  do  in  future  unless  they  would  immediately  give  a  pledge  of 
their  sincerity  by  a  removal  of  the  embargo. 

65 


nDemoit  of  2>r,  (Beorge 


towards  the  United  States  was  exactly  furthering  the  de- 
signs of  their  grand  enemy,  the  prime  minister  of  England, 
who  on  his  part  had  co-workers  with  him  in  the  United 
States  endeavouring  to  alienate  the  minds  of  the  people  en- 
tirely from  France  and  widening  the  breach  between  the 
two  republics  in  such  a  manner  that  war,  the  great  object 
that  Mr.  Pitt  wished  to  promote,  appeared  to  be  inevitable 
and  would  finally  enlist  us  on  the  British  side. 

Among  the  guests  at  dinner  the  next  day  at  the  "  palace 
of  the  director"  was  Schimmelpenninck,  an  envoy  lately  ar- 
rived from  the  cisalpine  republic,  some  of  the  heads  of 
departments,  etc.,  who,  with  the  family  of  Merlin,  made 
about  twenty  persons  who  sat  down  to  table.  When  the 
dessert  was  removed  a  few  toasts  were  drunk  previous  to 
the  introduction  of  coffee,  which  in  France  soon  follows. 
"  The  Republic  of  France,"  that  "  of  Holland,"  the  new-made 
"  Cisalpine  Republic,"  were  all  given  ;  but  the  United  States 
of  America  were  not  mentioned.  Dr.  Logan  noticed  the 
omission,  and,  addressing  himself  to  Merlin,  requested  that 
he  too  might  give  a  toast,  which  should  be  "  The  United 
States  of  America,  and  a  speedy  restoration  of  amity  be- 
tween them  and  France." 

"Sir,"  said  Merlin  in  reply,  "I  wished  myself  to  give  that 
toast,  and  will  now  do  it  in  your  words, — The  Republic  of 
the  United  States  of  America,  and  a  speedy  restoration  of 
amity  between  them  and  France." 

Dr.  Logan,  as  might  be  expected,  was  much  gratified. 
The  company  looked  upon  each  other  with  surprise  and 
pleasure,  and,  joining  their  glasses,  drank  the  toast  with  the 
utmost  hilarity  and  enthusiasm. 

66 


flDemotr  of  S>r,  (Beoroe  Xogan 


After  this  he  had  frequent  conferences  with  the  Directors. 
They  desired  him  to  state  explicitly  what  he  thought  would 
be  considered  by  the  government  and  people  of  the  United 
States  as  conduct  on  the  part  of  France  sufficiently  indica- 
tive of  a  desire  to  renew  the  former  relations  of  friendly 
intercourse  between  the  two  countries,  and  he  told  them 
that  it  must  consist  of  the  fullest  assurances  on  their  part 
that  a  minister  from  the  United  States  would  be  received  in 
France  as  one  from  the  most  favoured  people  would  be,  and, 
as  a  proof  of  the  sincerity  of  this  declaration,  they  must  di- 
rectly issue  an  arret  which  should  raise  the  embargo  on  our 
vessels  in  the  ports  of  France  and  liberate  our  seamen  con- 
fined in  their  prisons. 

"Sir,"  said  the  Director  to  him,  in  reply,  "that  is 
more  than  we  would  do  for  the  most  favoured  nation  in 
Europe." 

"  But,  nevertheless,"  returned  Dr.  Logan,  "  it  is  what  you 
must  do,  if  you  wish  to  conciliate  my  country." 

Merlin  afterwards  said  that  he  would  give  the  subject 
some  further  consideration ;  yet  he  urged  Dr.  Logan  to  de- 
part for  the  United  States  with  assurances  of  their  favour- 
able disposition  towards  a  negotiation  and  intended  good 
reception  of  a  minister  from  them. 

But  this  he  declared  to  be  useless  unless  they  would  give 
the  proof  required.  The  consul,  Barlow,  and  other  Ameri- 
cans at  Paris  told  him  that  they  expected  all  this  would  end 
as  other  things  of  a  like  nature  had  done  before,  in  decla- 
mation. Yet  in  a  short  time  the  secretary  of  the  Director 
waited  upon  Dr.  Logan  with  a  copy  of  the  desired  arret, 
which  had  been  sent  to  the  proper  authorities,  and  which 

67 


flDemott  of  2>r.  (Scorse  Xo$an 


entirely  changed  the  aspect  of  affairs  as  regarded  our  coun- 
trymen in  France. 

According  to  the  express  desire  of  Dr.  Logan,  the  de- 
spatches designed  for  government  were  committed  to  the 
care  of  another  gentleman,  who  sailed  in  the  first  vessel  that 
could  be  got  ready  for  sea.  Dr.  Logan  himself  took  his 
passage  in  the  "  Perseverance,"  Captain  Gideon  Gardner, 
of  Nantucket,  who  was  the  last  that  cleared  the  port  of 
Bordeaux.  On  his  journey  from  Paris  to  that  city  he  had 
been  made  uneasy  by  witnessing  the  clamours  of  French- 
men who  had  just  returned  from  the  United  States,  where 
they  had  been  imprisoned  and  harshly  treated.* 

The  stages  which  they  met  on  their  way  to  Bordeaux 
were  filled  with  these  men  going  to  Paris,  and  he  feared 
that  their  clamours  would  reach  the  ears  of  the  Directory, 
and  perhaps  might  alter  the  measures  of  a  government  to 
whom  popularity  was  so  essential  as  to  that  of  France  at 
the  time  of  which  we  now  write.f 

*  Some  of  these  prisoners  were  treated  in  the  United  States  with  a  de- 
gree of  barbarity  which  we  should  be  now  ashamed  of,  and  which  would 
not  have  happened  in  times  of  less  extraordinary  excitement.  The  gov- 
ernment, or  at  least  its  officers,  were  justly  blamable  for  the  severity. 
Those  at  Newcastle,  it  was  said,  would  have  suffered  severely  but  for  the 
attention  of  the  inhabitants. 

Many  were  sent  home  to  France  in  a  cartel  this  year  (I  believe  the 
same  whose  return  to  their  native  country  Dr.  Logan  had  witnessed),  the 
vessel  being  small,  not  well  supplied  with  stores,  and  crowded  with  pas- 
sengers, so  that  numbers  died  on  the  passage.  I  give  the  popular  reports 
at  the  time,  for  I  have  no  means  of  ascertaining  the  truth,  yet  hope,  for 
the  honour  of  our  country,  the  reports  were  exaggerated. 

f  The  official  documents  explaining  Dr.  Logan's  position  in  France 

will  be  found  in  the  Appendix. 

68 


flDcmotr  of  S>r.  (Bcoroe  Xogan 


The  captains  of  the  liberated  vessels  and  all  the  other 
American  citizens  at  Bordeaux  were  so  sensible  of  the  value 
of  Dr.  Logan's  services  on  this  occasion  that  the  former 
presented  to  him  the  following  address  : 

"  BORDEAUX,  September  8th,  1798. 
"To  DOCTOR  GEORGE  LOGAN: 

"  FELLOW  CITIZEN, — At  an  awful  crisis  when  two  great  sister  Republics 
appeared  to  be  on  the  eve  of  war  you  have  stepped  forward  the  friend  of 
both  countries  like  a  true  patriot  the  friend  of  humanity  to  prevent  if  pos- 
sible that  worst  of  all  calamities,  and  at  your  own  private  expense  to 
undertake  the  arduous  task  of  reconciling  those  who  once  were  friends. 
We  are  fully  convinced  that  your  exertions  and  manly  remonstrances  have 
already  raised  the  embargo  from  all  the  American  vessels,  and  set  at  lib- 
erty all  their  prisoners,  and  will  probably  have  a  considerable  influence  in 
restoring  captured  vessels  and  property  to  their  legal  owners.  We  sin- 
cerely hope  that  peace  and  a  happy  reconciliation  may  crown  your  labors 
for  the  public  good.  Your  disinterested  conduct  merits  the  approbation 
and  friendship  of  all  your  fellow  citizens.  We  earnestly  pray  that  you 
may  be  blessed  with  a  short  and  pleasant  passage  to  your  native  country, 
and  be  received  with  open  arms  by  every  true  friend  to  the  peace  hap- 
piness and  independence  of  America  and  meet  the  just  reward  of  your 
honest  endeavours  and  unremitting  exertions  for  their  welfare.  And  that 
the  United  States  of  America  may  be  preserved  a  great  powerful  and  free 
Republic  the  sure  and  safe  asylum  for  the  oppressed  people  of  all  nations 
is  our  sincere  desire  and  ardent  prayer. 

JAMES  WOLFE.  RICHARD  STEVENS.  T.  WALKER. 

PRIAM  PEASE.  GIDEON  GARDNER. 

GEORGE  DUNHAM.  WHITE  MATLACK.  SAM.  BARNES. 

THO.  RANDALL.  BENJAMIN  RICE.  ISAAC  WHIPPLE. 

OLIVER  SMITH.  JAMES  MONTGOMERY. 

THOMAS  NORTON.  MARSH  CLARK. 

To  this  address  he  returned  a  short  and  modest  answer, 
arrogating  no  merit  to  himself,  but  asserting  the  principle 

69 


flDemoir  of  2>r,  (Beorge  Xogan 


that,  as  a  citizen  of  a  free  republic,  it  was  his  duty,  and  he 
considered  it  as  his  right,  to  benefit  his  country  in  every  way 
in  his  power. 

ANSWER  TO  THE  ADDRESS  OF  THE  AMERICAN    MERCHANTS 
AND  CAPTAINS  AT  BORDEAUX. 

"  September  Qth,  1798. 

"  FELLOW  CITIZENS, — The  favourable  point  of  view  in  which  you  are 
pleased  to  consider  my  conduct  since  my  arrival  in  France  I  assure  you  is 
highly  acceptable.  As  a  citizen  of  a  free  independent  Republic  it  is  my 
right  and  I  have  ever  considered  it  as  my  duty  to  promote  the  good  of 
my  country  under  all  circumstances  and  in  every  situation  in  which  my 
exertions  could  be  useful.  Under  this  impression  I  have  made  some 
efforts  to  promote  the  late  favourable  measures  of  the  Government  of 
France  towards  our  country.  But  permit  me  to  assure  you  that  these 
measures  which  must  afford  the  most  sincere  pleasure  to  every  friend  to 
the  U.  S.  are  in  justice  more  to  be  attributed  to  the  magnanimity  & 
sound  policy  of  this  enlightened  Nation  than  to  the  influence  of  any 
private  individual.  It  is  devoutly  to  be  wished  that  the  Government  of 
the  U.  S.  may  be  fully  sensible  of  ye  importance  of  ye  present  moment 
to  restore  peace  harmony  &  prosperity  to  our  Country.  Accept  my 
sincere  &  grateful  thanks  for  your  kind  wishes  for  my  safe  return  to  my 

Country  and  future  happiness. 

«GEO.  LOGAN." 

In  answer  to  the  memorial  which  Citizen  Schimmelpen- 
ninck  presented  to  the  Directory  of  France,  offering  the 
mediation  of  the  Batavian  Republic  between  the  French  and 
American  Republics,  he  was  informed  by  the  Minister  of 
the  Exterior,  Talleyrand,  that  the  government  of  France  re- 
ceived the  offer  with  satisfaction,  at  the  same  time  adding 
that  the  Directory  were  about  to  give  such  testimonies  of 
their  conciliatory  disposition  towards  the  United  States  that 
they  expected  would  produce  the  like  good  disposition  on 

70 


flfeemotr  of  H)r.  George  Xogan 


the  part  of  the  government  of  the  United  States.  Should 
this  not  be  the  case  they  would  be  obliged  to  Holland  for 
her  friendly  offer  and  would  accept  of  it. 

The  following  letter  was  written  to  his  wife  from  Ham- 
burg, giving  a  sketch  of  his  plans  and  hopes  : 

"  HAMBURG  July  26th  1798 

"  MY  BEST  FRIEND, — I  wrote  a  few  lines  to  you  two  days  since  merely 
to  give  you  an  account  of  my  safe  arrival  at  this  place.  I  waited  on  the 
French  minister  in  order  to  procure  a  passport  to  Paris  his  secretary  in- 
formed me  that  they  had  received  positive  orders  from  the  Government 
of  France  not  to  give  a  passport  to  any  American  to  go  into  the  French 
territory,  this  difficulty  was  obviated  by  the  kind  assistance  of  our  good 
friend  Citizen  Lafayette  who  is  now  in  this  neighbourhood  with  his  ami- 
able family.  I  am  to  spend  this  day  with  him.  He  is  very  anxious  that 
harmony  may  be  preserved  between  America  and  France.  I  shall  write 
to  you  fully  after  this  interview.  Every  effort  will  be  made  by  the  real 
friends  of  both  Countries  in  Europe  to  procure  a  spirit  of  accommodation 
on  the  part  of  France ;  inform  our  friends  Dickinson,  Jefferson  and  other 
real  patriots  of  this  circumstance,  and  that  they  should  use  every  means  in 
their  power  to  promote  the  same  friendly  disposition  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States.  I  am  informed  that  General  Koskiuszko  is  arrived  in  Paris 
he  will  co-operate  with  us  in  this  valuable  measure.  I  do  not  think  it  will 
be  in  my  power  to  return  to  America  this  winter  if  not  you  may  expect  to 
see  me  in  the  month  of  April  next.  Pray  take  care  of  your  own  health 
and  I  charge  you  to  make  use  of  the  power  I  placed  in  your  hands  to  ren- 
der your  situation  during  my  absence  as  comfortable  as  possible.  Re- 
member me  affectionately  to  our  dear  children.  Tell  them  that  I  am 
every  day  more  and  more  convinced  of  the  great  advantages  to  be  gained 
by  a  cultivated  mind,  they  must  therefore  as  they  value  their  own  hap- 
piness give  every  attention  to  their  improvements.  I  expect  A  ...  to 
assist  you  in  every  thing. 

"I  am  yours 

"GEo.  LOGAN." 


CHAPTER  V 
Domestic  Cares  ano  Bnifetg 

I  MUST  now  crave  permission  to  relate  what  was 
my  own  situation,  and  what  were  the  events  which 
occurred  to  me  during  the  perilous  time  of  my 
husband's  absence.  His  departure  and  the  clamours  which 
were  immediately  raised  upon  it  filled  the  minds  of  our  par- 
ticular friends  with  dismay.  My  own  honoured  and  most 
respectable  mother  left  her  home  at  Chester  and  came  to 
me  in  a  state  of  the  utmost  anxiety,  but  I  soon  succeeded 
in  calming  her  apprehensions  by  convincing  her  of  my  hus- 
band's perfect  innocence  of  the  nefarious  intentions  with 
which  his  enemies  had  charged  him,  yet  was  I  frequently 
myself  a  prey  to  the  most  harrowing  inquietude. 

I  saw  those  enemies  dominant,  and  knew  from  the  spirit 
of  the  times  that  the  least  departure  from  the  most  rigid 
prudence  would  be  stigmatized  as  treason,  to  the  con- 
struction of  which  the  Alien  and  Sedition  Act,  then  just 
passed,  would  afford  very  effectual  aid,  for  it  appeared  to 
me  as  if  rendering  the  most  common  offices  of  humanity 
to  a  Frenchman  in  distress  would  be  liable,  under  this 
severe  law,  to  be  considered  as  aiding  the  enemies  of  the 
republic. 

I  wanted  to  apprise  my  husband  of  the  passage  of  this 
law,  and  of  my  apprehensions  concerning  it,  but  knew  not 
in  what  manner  to  convey  a  letter  in  safety  to  his  hands 
until  a  friendly  Englishman  suggested  to  me  the  mode  of 
inclosing  my  letter  in  one  directed  to  Thomas  Mullett,  Esq., 

72 


flDemott  of  2>r,  <3eor$e  Xogan 


a  merchant  of  London,  who,  he  assured  me,  would  acquit 
himself  of  the  trust  to  my  satisfaction.  I  accordingly  wrote 
and  the  answer  which  I  received  from  this  gentleman  (who 
was  entirely  unknown  to  me)  was  as  follows  : 

{Thomas  Mullett  to  Mrs.  Logan.') 

"LONDON  loth  of  September  1798. 

"MADAM, — Your  Letter  of  the  zpth  of  June,  I  received  on  the  1 4th of 
August.  On  that  day  I  forwarded  the  letter  you  inclosed  to  my  corre- 
spondent at  Hambro'.  On  the  24th  he  informed  me  that  the  Gentleman 
had  safely  arrived,  but  had  left  Hambro'  about  14  days,  the  person  to 
whom  the  Ship  was  consigned  had  no  knowledge  of  him,  but  it  was  un- 
derstood, Paris  was  his  destination.  He  had  been  with  M.  De  La  Fay- 
ette,  and  from  that  Gentleman  my  correspondent  expected  to  obtain  a 
proper  direction. 

"  If  not,  he  would  forward  it  to  his  ffriend  there  to  make  the  necessary 
enquiry,  which  I  presume  could  not  fail  of  success.  I  have  thus  Madam, 
endeavoured  to  accomplish  your  wish,  and  now  give  you  the  earliest  proof 
in  my  power  that  your  confidence  has  not  been  misplaced. 

"Not  recollecting  that  I  ever  had  the  pleasure  of  an  introduction  to 
yourself  or  any  of  your  respectable  family  when  I  was  in  America,  I  may 
possibly  remain  ignorant  of  the  source  from  whence  you  derived  a  testi- 
mony of  character  honourable  to  me  and  inducing  so  much  of  your  confi- 
dence. Be  this  as  it  may,  you  will  have  the  goodness  to  inform  the  par- 
ties, that  their  recommendation  of  character  and  cases  like  yours,  and  in 
times  like  the  present,  as  far  as  it  relates  to  my  own  powers,  will  not  in- 
volve them  in  much  disappointment. 

"  The  motives  to  which  you  appealed,  have  ever  had  their  influence  on 
my  mind.  If  I  have  rendered  you  a  service  it  will  afford  me  a  pleasure  to 
know  it.  In  attempting  it  I  have  discharged  one  of  the  duties  of  hu- 
manity ;  a  consciousness  of  which  as  you  justly  observe,  is  always  reward. 
Sentiments  like  those  you  have  expressed  cannot  fail  of  exciting  the  esteem 
of  Madam, 

"your  friend  and  servant 

"Tnos  MULLETT. 

6  73 


flUemotr  of  Dr.  (Beoroe  Xogan 


"p.s.  1 3th  September. 

"I  have  just  received  another  letter  for  the  same  Gentleman,  enclosed 
in  a  few  lines  without  signature  dated  igih  of  July  and  sent  by  the  two 
Friends,  but  which  does  not  appear  to  be  your  hand  writing. 

"  This  Letter  I  have  sent  thro'  the  same  channel  as  the  former,  and 
entertain  no  doubt  of  its  being  properly  attended  to. 

"The  Embargo  on  American  Vessels  in  France  is  taken  off  by  an 
arrtt  of  the  Directory  and  every  pacific  disposition  is  discovered  by  the 
Government  towards  America.  If  a  Friend  of  yours  has  been  instrumental 
in  this  he  deserves  well  of  his  country. 

"  T.  M. 

"MRS.  D.  LOGAN,  STENTON,  NEAR  PHILADELPHIA" 

At  this  period  I  experienced  what  it  was  to  lay  under  the 
ban  of  political  excommunication  myself;  for  it  was  said 
that  those  would  be  marked  who  should  be  seen  to  enter 
our  gates.  Yet  let  me  do  justice  to  those  of  our  Federal 
friends  who  still  kindly  visited  and  cared  for  me;  among 
whom  the  late  worthy  Frederick  Augustus  Smyth,  Esq., 
and  his  excellent  lady,  and  the  benevolent  John  Vaughan, 
who  still  lives — and  may  he  long  do  so !  for  his  life  is  a 
benefit  and  blessing  to  society. 

These,  and  some  others,  will  always  be  remembered  by 
me  with  gratitude.  Nor  ought  I  to  omit  the  kindnesses  re- 
ceived from  my  Republican  friends  and  neighbours,  who 
strove  all  in  their  power  to  cheer  and  console  me,  and  of 
whom  Dr.  Samuel  Betton,  Sr.,  and  his  truly  amiable  and 
lovely  wife  deserved  my  grateful  acknowledgments  for  their 
many  affectionate  attentions.  My  husband's  family,  his 
worthy  brother-in-law,  Thomas  Fisher,  my  own  good  mother 
and  brothers,  and,  indeed,  all  our  friends,  including  our 
much  respected  cousin  J.  Dickinson  at  Wilmington,  all 

74 


flDemotr  of  2>r.  (Beorge  Xo$an 


evinced  the  most  lively  interest  in  my  welfare,  sincerely 
sympathizing  with  me  in  my  anxieties,  and  rejoicing  with 
me  in  the  most  happy  result  which  shortly  followed. 

Soon  after  the  departure  of  my  husband  I  received  a  visit 
from  Thomas  Jefferson,  then  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States,  who  told  me  that  he  had  been  greatly  concerned  for 
me  on  account  of  the  obloquy  and  abuse  which  had  been  so 
freely  bestowed  on  Dr.  Logan's  character,  and  advised  me 
to  evince  my  thorough  consciousness  of  his  innocence  and 
honour  by  showing  myself  in  Philadelphia  as  one  not  afraid 
nor  ashamed  to  meet  the  public  eye.  He  said  he  could  not 
have  believed  it  possible  that  the  utmost  bitterness  of  party 
spirit  could  have  invented,  or  have  given  credit  to,  such 
unfounded  calumnies.  That  he  was  himself  dogged  and 
watched  in  the  most  extraordinary  manner ;  and  he  apolo- 
gized for  the  lateness  of  his  visit  (for  we  were  at  tea  when 
he  arrived)  by  saying  that,  in  order  to  elude  the  curiosity  of 
his  spies,  he  had  not  taken  the  direct  road,  but  had  come  by 
a  circuitous  route  by  the  Falls  of  Schuylkill,  along  one  of 
the  lanes  to  Germantown,  and  passing  by  the  house  and 
gate,  had  come  in  by  the  entrance  on  the  York  Road  (an 
excess  of  caution  which  seemed  to  me  to  be  quite  unavail- 
ing, for  his  Federal  inspectors  did  not  impute  an  iota  less  of 
evil  designs  to  him,  for  all  his  care  to  avoid  suspicion).*  He 

*  He  also  mentioned  that  it  had  been  his  intention  to  have  set  out  for 
Virginia  the  next  week,  but  that  he  had  prolonged  his  stay  in  order  to  see 
what  Mr.  Harper  could  make  out  with  his  conspiracy.  He  likewise  told 
me  that  Mr.  Marshall,  the  envoy,  had  said  in  his  hearing  that  when  he 
arrived  in  New  York  he  was  astonished  to  see  the  preparations  for  war. 
The  people  of  France,  he  believed,  had  no  idea  of  entering  into  one  with 
these  States. 

75 


flDemoir  of  2>r.  <5eor$e  OLogan 


spoke  of  the  temper  of  the  times  and  of  the  late  acts  of  the 
Legislature  with  a  sort  of  despair,  but  said  he  thought  even 
the  shadow  of  our  liberties  must  be  gone  if  they  attempted 
anything  that  would  injure  me.  This  was  the  only  time  I 
saw  him  during  my  husband's  absence. 

In  a  few  days  I  put  in  [practice]  the  advice  which  Jefferson 
gave  me,  and  went  to  the  city,  where  some  even  told  me 
they  were  surprised  to  see  me !  And  many  that  did  not 
notice  it  in  this  rude  manner  to  myself,  expressed  to  others 
their  astonishment  that  I  could  look  thus  gay  and  cheerful 
in  the  circumstances  in  which  I  was  placed. 

The  autumn  of  this  year  was  marked  by  one  of  the  most 
desolating  pestilences  with  which  we  were  ever  visited.* 
It  did  not  confine  its  ravages  to  the  city,  as  those  before  it 
had  mostly  done,  but  spread  itself  over  many  of  the  neigh- 
bouring towns  and  villages.  The  little  borough  of  Chester, 
where  my  mother  resided,  was  awfully  swept  of  its  inhabi- 
tants by  it.  She  had  returned  home,  but  left  it  again  and 
came  to  me  as  to  a  place  of  greater  safety,  together  with 
my  elder  brother  and  a  faithful  attendant  who  had  lived 
with  her  for  many  years. 

*  The  summer  had  been  unusually  warm.  I  find  by  memorandums 
written  at  the  time  that  in  the  month  of  August  the  thermometer  was 
frequently  at  90°,  and  sometimes  above.  It  was  on  the  6th  of  that 
month  that  I  first  heard  of  the  fever  being  in  Philadelphia,  brought,  it 
was  said,  in  Captain  Yard's  sloop,  from  Jeremie.  It  soon  spread  with 
frightful  rapidity,  and  carried  off  many  of  the  citizens.  The  villages  in 
the  neighbourhood  were  filled  with  people  fleeing  from  the  disease ;  but 
safety  was  not,  as  heretofore,  the  certain  result  of  leaving  the  city,  for 
numbers  died  in  its  neighbourhood.  In  Germantown  many  were  carried 
off.  It  became  a  period  of  very  general  distress  and  anxiety. 

76 


flDemotr  of  Br.  (Beorge  Slogan 


The  fever  at  Chester  was  said  at  the  time  to  have  been 
received  there  from  the  passage  of  a  hearse  through  the 
town,  which  was  reconveying  to  the  city  for  interment  in 
consecrated  ground  the  corpse  of  one  who  had  fled  from 
its  ravages  with  the  fatal  contagion  in  her  veins.  In  cross- 
ing the  bridge  one  of  the  inhabitants  was  unfortunately  so 
near  as  to  be  much  affected  with  the  noisome  effluvia ;  he 
sickened  and  died  in  a  few  days,  and  the  disease  rapidly 
spread  from  him.  Its  effects  in  Chester  were  truly  de- 
plorable. 

My  brother  was  taken  ill  directly  after  his  arrival  with 
my  mother  at  Stenton,  and  his  physicians  pronounced  his 
disorder  to  be  the  yellow  fever.  He  was  extremely  ill  for 
some  time,  and  our  alarm  and  anxiety  were  very  great ; 
but,  by  the  kindness  of  Providence,  we  were  spared  the 
trial  of  losing  him  at  this  distressing  period. 


77 


CD 


CHAPTER  VI 
Ouests  at  Stenton— 2Dr*  Slogan's  IReturn 

Y  family  was  at  this  time  augmented  by  the  com- 
pany of  our  uncle  James  Logan,  Esq.,  of  Phila- 
delphia, his  nephew,  and  servants,  so  that,  with 
my  guests  and  our  own  domestics,  I  had  above  twenty 
persons  under  our  roof  daily  to  provide  for ;  but  this  was 
better  for  me  than  to  be  left  in  solitude. 

At  length  the  kindly  frosts  of  autumn  dissipated  the  seeds 
of  contagion  and  purified  our  cities  from  disease.  My  be- 
loved guests  left  me,  but  not  before  public  rumour  and  the 
letters  which  I  had  received — short,  indeed,  but  comprehen- 
sive— led  me  to  hope  the  return  of  my  husband,  and  ban- 
ished all  care  but  for  his  safety  and  for  what  might  be  his 
reception  in  his  own  country. 

Whilst  I  was  thus  situated  I  went  one  afternoon  to  visit 
at  Roxborough,  the  seat  of  our  worthy  friend,  the  ex-Chief 
Justice  Smyth.  He  was  an  Englishman  and  a  Tory  who 
had  held  an  office  under  the  Crown  during  the  colonial 
government,  but  he  was  a  man  of  great  honour,  candour, 
and  good  sense,  and,  though  they  differed  in  politics,  had  a 
sincere  friendship  for  my  husband.  Here  I  found,  as  was 
usual,  a  large  circle  of  company,  among  whom  was  George 
Clymer,  Thomas  Fitzsimmons,  and  several  other  Federal 
gentlemen. 

I  observed  they  talked  together  with  much  earnestness, 
and  at  length  one  of  them  (Fitzsimmons)  came  to  me  and 

78 


flfiemoir  of  Dr.  (Seorse  1lo$an 


inquired  if  he  might  ask  me  had  I  received  letters  from  Dr. 
Logan,  and,  if  so,  what  was  the  state  of  things  in  France  ? 
I  told  him  briefly  and  modestly  what  I  had  heard,  — "that 
the  embargo  was  raised,  our  seamen  liberated  and  return- 
ing in  our  vessels,  and  a  disposition  for  peace  manifested 
on  the  part  of  France."  (But  I  imputed  nothing  to  the 
exertions  of  my  husband.)  He  replied  that  it  was  extraor- 
dinary news,  indeed,  and  that  he  sincerely  congratulated 
me  upon  it ;  and  our  kind  neighbour,  the  judge,  exultingly 
exclaimed, — 

"You  know,  gentlemen,  I  have  always  said  that  Dr. 
Logan  would  never  disgrace  himself  nor  injure  his  coun- 
try!" 

I  had  been  advised  by  some  of  my  Republican  friends  to 
publish  an  extract  from  one  of  the  letters  which  I  had  re- 
ceived,* and  which  I  here  subjoin  with  the  very  illiberal 
comment  which  the  editor  annexed  to  its  publication,  writ- 
ten in  the  spirit  of  that  persecuting  period  : 

EXTRACT  OF  A  LETTER  FROM   DOCTOR  LOGAN,  DATED  BOR- 
DEAUX, SEPTEMBER  9,  1 798,  TO  HIS  WIFE. 

"  I  have  the  pleasure  to  inform  you  that  I  embark  this  day  on  board 
the  ship  Perseverance  for  Philadelphia,  and  shall  bring  with  me  dis- 
patches for  our  government,  calculated  to  restore  that  harmony,  the  loss 
of  which  has  been  so  sensibly  felt  by  both  countries.  All  American  ves- 
sels in  the  harbours  of  France  have  been  released,  all  American  prisoners 
have  been  set  at  liberty ;  and  the  most  positive  assurances  have  been  made 
that  France  is  ready  to  enter  on  a  treaty  for  the  amicable  accommodation 

*  This  letter  was  brought  to  New  York  in  one  of  the  first  vessels  that 
arrived  from  France,  and  was  sent  to  me  immediately,  inclosed  in  one  from 
Governor  Clinton. 

79 


flRemotr  of  2>r.  (Beorge  Xogan 


of  all  matters  in  dispute.  American  citizens  are  treated  with  respect  in 
every  part  of  France,  and  the  appearance  of  a  reconciliation  between  the 
two  republics  affords  the  highest  satisfaction  to  all  classes  of  citizens  in 

this  country,  ect.,  ect. 

"GEORGE  LOGAN." 

"ENVOY  LOGAN.* 

"  The  letter  from  the  above  gentleman  affords  the  best  comment  on  the 
character  of  \hxy&z  patriots,  who  are  willing  to  sacrifice  the  liberty  of  their 
country,  to  the  insidious  designs  of  an  unprincipled  foreign  foe,  and  to 
barter,  in  the  very  face  of  their  countrymen,  the  honour  of  their  govern- 
ment the  security  of  their  most  invaluable  rights,  for  the  delusive  hopes  of 
French  justice.  As  we  cannot  permit  ourselves  to  doubt  its  authenticity, 
the  citizen  envoy,  with  his  whole  train  of  French  diplomatic  paraphernalia, 
may  be  hourly  expected." 

Whoever  will  take  the  trouble  to  look  over  the  public 
prints  of  this  period  will  be  astonished  at  the  evidences  of 
illiberality  and  party  spirit  which  they  exhibit.  On  one 
occasion  it  was  recommended  by  Cobbett,  in  case  of  Dr. 
Logan's  return,  to  put  him  in  the  pillory,  in  which  I  was  to 
have  the  honour  to  accompany  him.  They  likewise  said 
the  Directory  had  quarrelled  with  him  and  ordered  his 
departure  from  Paris.  Bache  and  Fenno,  printers  of  the 
opposite  parties,  both  died  this  autumn. 

I  am  conscious  that  I  have  ample  materials  in  the  circum- 
stance of  the  return  of  my  honoured  husband  to  his  native 
country,  after  having  rendered  her  so  important  a  service, 
to  produce  a  picture  (if  the  master's  hand  were  not  want- 
ing) which,  true  to  nature,  and  to  the  strong  emotions  which 
characterized  that  period,  should  still,  whilst  it  transmitted  a 
memorial  of  those  emotions,  convey  likewise  an  idea  of  the 

*  Comment  by  the  editor  of  the  Philadelphia  Gazette. 

80 


flnemoir  of  S>r.  (Beorge 


"weight  and  pressure"  of  the  times  over  which  it  was  the 
reward  of  his  patriotism  to  triumph. 

It  was  the  reign  of  addresses,  as  well  as  of  terror.  It 
had  been  for  some  time  the  custom  for  party  to  express  its 
sentiments  to  the  public  by  means  of  addresses  to  the 
President  (Mr.  Jefferson) ;  and  he  also  made  use  of  the  oc- 
casion of  his  answering  them  as  a  suitable  vehicle  to  convey 
his  opinions  and  fulminate  his  anathemas. 

His  character  is  (for  he  is  yet  living  *)  a  very  singular 
combination  of  opposite  qualities  and  sentiments.  No  one 
could  seriously  question  his  honesty  or  patriotism,  or  deny 
that  he  had  performed  many  and  great  services  to  his 
country ;  but  he  was  at  this  period  so  inflated  with  an 
extraordinary  conceit  of  his  own  talents,  chiefly,  I  think, 
produced  by  the  flattery  which  had  been  poured  out  for 
him  by  unsparing  hands,  that  he  seemed  to  believe  nothing 
was  wanting  to  his  reputation  but  a  war,  that  it  might  be 
seen  by  the  world  how  skilfully  he  could  sit  at  the  helm 
and  steer  the  vessel  of  the  republic  through  its  rocks  and 
shoals. 

He  had  declared,  in  an  answer  to  one  of  the  addresses 
which  were  then  most  frequently  presented,  that  "The 
Finger  of  Heaven  pointed  to  War."  That  is,  in  other  words, 
that  he  had  determined  on  it,  and  the  public  mind,  at  that 
time  swayed  by  the  dominant  party  and  incited  by  various 
passions,  had  hitherto  borne  him  company. 

But  calmer  thoughts  had  happily  succeeded.  The  suffer- 
ings of  many  in  the  loss  of  their  friends  and  families  by  the 
pestilence  had  considerably  allayed  the  fierce  spirit  with 

*  1821. 
81 


flUemotr  of  Dr.  (Beorge 


which  citizens  of  opposite  parties  regarded  each  other,  and 
they  paused  upon  the  prospect  of  adding  war  to  the  cata- 
logue of  evils  wherewith  they  were  afflicted. 

I  was  early  sensible  myself  of  the  change  which  public 
opinion  was  about  to  undergo  by  the  kind  inquiries  and 
lively  interest  which  the  lower  ranks  of  citizens  expressed 
for  my  husband,  for  now,  almost  every  day,  wishes  for  his 
safety  and  speedy  return  greeted  my  ears. 

The  change  in  the  measures  of  the  President,  which  after- 
wards took  place,  may  perhaps  be  partly  attributable  to  his 
perception  of  this  alteration  of  the  sentiments  of  the  people 
to  a  conviction  that  war  would  be  injurious,  and  to  a  lure, 
not  inartificially  held  out  to  him,  of  a  re-election  to  the 
Presidency  upon  condition  of  his  concluding  a  peace  with 
France,  and  the  further  terms  of  the  dismissal  from  the  office 
of  Secretary  of  State  of  one  of  the  most  honest  and  upright 
men  in  the  whole  community,  and  I  have  been  confirmed  in 
this  latter  imputation  by  a  conversation  which  I  have  lately 
had  with  this  gentleman  ;  but  I  forbear  to  say  any  more  on 
this  head. 

The  feelings  which  now  agitated  my  mind  (I  suppose 
from  something  comparable  to  condensation)  became  so 
intense  that  I  could  scarcely  control  myself.  I  expected, 
and  had  been  led  to  do  so  from  what  many  told  me,  that 
the  government  would  imprison  Dr.  Logan  upon  his  return, 
and  I  hardly  dared  to  hope  that  he,  "  who  certain  of  the 
weight"  often  disregarded  "the  impress"  of  what  he  said 
and  did,  had  been  so  cautious  that  spies  and  enemies  would 
not  be  able  to  pick  out  something  to  accuse  him  of  which 
they  would  deem  criminal. 

82 


STENTON.     DOORWAY 


and 

ct  of  adding  war  to  the  ca ta- 
il they  were  afflicted. 

I  was  ear  of  the  change  which  public 

opinion  wa  lie  kind  inquiries  and 

lively  in  citizens  expressed 

for  my  bus  ban  wishes  for  his 

safety  and  sp< 

The  chan^ 
wards  took  pla<  ie  to  his 

•ptioa  of  ti 

to  a  conviction  that  war  v  >ut.  aiv 

not  inartifu 

Presidency  upon  conr!  ^  a  pt 

France,  and  thr  ms  of  t  ae  office 

e  of  one  of  the  most  honest  and  upright 
.>mmunity,  and  I  have  been  confirmed  in 
latter  imputat  i  conversation  which  I  have  lately 

h«ad. 

The  feelings  which  now  agitated  :;>y  mind  (I  5 
from  something  comparable  to  sation)  became  so 

intense  that  I  could  scarcely  control  myself.  I  expected, 
and  had  been  led  to  do  so  from  what  many  told  me,  that 
the  govern?  >rison  Dr.  Logan  upon  his  return, 

and  I  1  DC  that  he,  "who  certain  of  the 

often  dis?  uie  /knpress"  of  what  he  said 

and  did,  had  be  spies  and  enentr-^   -  :»>ld 

not  be  able  to  %  to  accuse  him 

they  would  deem  criminal. 

8a 


flilcmotr  of  Br.  George 


I  had  also  learned  (for  circumstances  calculated  to  create 
alarm  seldom  remain  a  secret  to  the  anxiously  interested) 
that  there  were  two  vessels  called  the  "  Perseverance"  to 
sail  from  Bordeaux,  one  of  which  was  tight  and  new,  the 
other  a  bad  sailer,  old,  and  scarcely  seaworthy ;  the  latter, 
my  fears  suggested,  was  the  one  in  which  my  husband  had 
embarked,  for  I  knew  he  would  stay  till  the  last ;  and  it  was 
remarkable  that  both  these  ships  arrived  in  our  river  on  the 
same  day. 

At  length  messages  from  many  of  my  friends  greeted 
me  with  the  expectation  of  his  arrival,  and  two  emigrant 
French  gentlemen  who  lived  upon  our  Wakefield  farm  and 
who  had  been  in  Philadelphia  called,  on  their  return,  to  tell 
me  what  they  had  heard  on  this  head,  so  that  I  was  ap- 
prised of  his  near  approach,  but  did  not  look  for  his  arrival 
before  the  next  day.  My  sons,  who  were  young  mountain- 
eers in  their  fearless  habits  and  love  of  the  chase,  had  that 
morning  taken  out  their  father's  favourite  spaniel,  and  by 
accident  had  wounded  her.  She  was  brought  to  me  to  be 
nursed,  and  was  accommodated  with  a  cushion  near  the 
fire.  My  youngest  boy  was  put  to  bed,  and  the  others 
were  reading  with  me  in  the  dining-room,  when  a  step  was 
heard  on  the  piazza. 

The  wounded  animal  raised  herself,  and,  instinctively 
knowing  the  sound,  strove  to  get  to  the  door.  It  opened, 
and  in  a  moment  the  restored  husband,  father,  friend,  and 
master  found  himself  in  the  bosom  of  his  happy  family, — 
for  our  affectionate  old  Dinah  (who  had  likewise  taken  care 
of  him  in  infancy),  hearing  the  joyful  exclamation,  had 
brought  Algernon  from  his  bed  to  share  in  his  father's 

83 


flnemotr  of  Dr.  (Beorge  Xogan 


caresses,  and,  herself  embracing  his  knees,  blessed  God 
that  she  had  lived  to  witness  his  return. 

We  all  shed  tears  of  the  purest  joy.  And  never  shall  I 
forget  the  happiness  of  that  hour,  for  there  was  an  honest 
security  in  his  manner  that  at  once  banished  all  my  fears 
from  the  machinations  of  his  enemies,  whom  he  now  had 
completely  under  his  feet;  and  never  did  one  from  their 
upright  and  virtuous  conduct  more  entirely  live  down 
calumny  or  more  innocently  triumph  over  base  and  un- 
founded aspersions. 

Oh,  memory  of  my  lost  but  ever  honoured  husband! 
would  I  had  it  in  my  gift  to  place  an  imperishable  garland 
on  thy  tomb ! — that  the  envied  talent  was  given  me  so  to 
portray  the  patriot  flame  that  warmed  thy  heart  and  guided 
thy  conduct  that  posterity  should  do  thy  character  justice, 
and  in  after-times  view  the  spot  where  thine  ashes  rest  with 
the  veneration  ever  due  to  the  benefactors  of  mankind ! 

Immediately  after  this  interview  with  his  family  he  thought 
it  his  duty  to  wait  upon  the  President  and  the  Secretary  of 
State  with  his  despatches,  informing  them  of  the  state  of 
things  in  France  and  to  offer  to  them  the  inspection  of  all 
his  papers  if  they  chose  to  examine  them.  It  was  in  the 
month  of  November;  Congress  was  about  to  assemble, 
and,  in  consequence  of  Philadelphia  having  been  visited  by 
the  yellow  fever,  the  President  and  heads  of  departments 
were  at  Trenton. 

At  Bristol,  on  his  way  thither,  Dr.  Logan  joined  General 
Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney,  his  lady,  and  family,  who  as 
old  acquaintances  were  extremely  glad  to  see  him,  and 
they  breakfasted  together  with  a  cordiality  that  surprised 

84 


flncmott  of  2>r.  (Beorge  Slogan 


many  who  observed  it  at  the  inn.  He  overheard  some  of 
their  remarks,  which  were  very  amusing.* 

He  waited  on  the  President,  was  admitted  (it  had  been 
rumoured  that  the  President  would  not  receive  him),  and  had 
a  long  conference  alone  with  him.  The  President  asked 
him  many  questions,  all  of  which  he  answered  with  his  usual 
candour.  Nor  did  the  President  show  to  him  any  of  that 
irritability  of  temper  with  which  he  has  been  charged,  for 
he  was  very  polite  and  had  the  usual  refreshments  brought 
for  his  guest ;  only  a  little  sally  escaped  him  when  the  as- 
surances of  the  Directory  that  they  would  receive  a  minister 
were  repeated  to  him.  He  arose  from  his  chair,  and,  with  a 
characteristic  action  used  when  in  earnest,  "Yes,"  said  he, 
"  I  suppose  if  I  were  to  send  Mr.  Madison  or  Mr.  Giles  or 
Dr.  Logan  they  would  receive  either  of  them.  But  I'll  do 
no  such  thing;  I'll  send  whom  I  please." 

"  And  whoever  you  do  please  to  send  will  be  received," 
replied  Dr.  Logan. 

*  In  passing  through  Philadelphia  on  his  return  home  he  had  stopped 
at  the  coffee  house  and  at  the  hotel  to  look  for  lodgings  for  Captain  Gard- 
ner, who  was  a  stranger  in  the  city.  The  utmost  surprise  was  expressed 
upon  seeing  him — at  large.  But  the  people  all  greeted  him  with  joy. 
The  innkeeper,  who  furnished  him  with  a  horse  and  gig  to  return  home, 
would  take  no  hire  for  it,  saying  he  was  too  happy  to  have  it  in  his  power 
to  oblige  him. 


CHAPTER  VII 
•Reception  b$  tbe  6o\>ernment— Xooan  Bet— Bfcoresses 

.  LOGAN,  previous  to  this  reception  by  the 
President,  had  an  interview  with  Colonel  Picker- 
ing, then  Secretary  of  State,  in  which  these  two 
gentlemen,  of  politics  diametrically  opposed  to  each  other, 
became  so  convinced  of  each  other's  honesty  of  purpose 
and  love  of  their  country,  that  it  laid  the  foundation  of  a 
sincere  and  lasting  esteem  and  friendship  between  them.* 

He  thought  it  proper  in  like  manner  to  wait  on  General 
Washington  and  inform  him  of  what  had  passed  in  France ; 
and  I  remember  that  at  this  interview  the  general  asked  him 
what  was  the  reason  the  Directors  had  treated  him  [Logan] 
so  well,  when  the  government  of  France  had  assumed  so 
different  a  tone  to  our  commissioners  ? 

*  Since  writing  the  above  I  have  found  a  paper  in  Dr.  Logan's  hand- 
writing giving  an  account  of  this  interview,  which  I  shall  here  transcribe. 

"  After  a  conversation  of  considerable  length  with  Mr.  Pickering,  dur- 
ing which  he  at  times  manifested  a  great  degree  of  irritation  against  the 
French,  I  took  my  leave  :  he  waited  on  me  to  the  door,  on  the  threshold  of 
which,  with  a  voice  altered  by  the  agitation  of  his  mind,  he  stammered  out 
these  words,  too  singular  not  to  be  related : 

"  '  Sir,  it  is  my  duty  to  inform  you  that  the  government  does  not  thank 
you  for  what  you  have  done. ' 

"  Considering  Mr.  Pickering  as  Secretary  of  State  and  the  public  organ 
of  the  executive,  I  was  astonished  at  his  folly.  In  this  the  most  important 
transaction  of  my  life  I  had  the  approbation  of  my  conscience.  I  never 
experienced  a  more  perfect  satisfaction  than  what  arose  from  the  reflection 
of  having  done  my  country  so  considerable  a  service." 

86 


(memoir  of  Br.  George  Xooan 


Doctor  Logan  replied  that  his  own  conduct,  and  not 
theirs,  was  all  he  could  account  for. 

Congress,  directly  after  it  assembled,  passed  what  was 
then  denominated  "  Logan's  Law,"  providing  for  such  a  case 
in  future ;  but  I  believe  none  have  ever  been  arraigned  un- 
der it ;  *  neither  did  it  prevent  him  from  going  some  years 
afterwards  on  the  same  kind  of  mission  to  England.  The 
Legislature  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  in  their  address,  and  in  his  answer  (so  much  the 
fashion  of  that  day),  complained  that  he  had  interfered  to 
make  peace  ;  but  their  censure  fell  innoxious  on  him,  whilst 
the  rebound  made  themselves  (so  much  disappointed  in 
not  having  a  war  on  their  hands)  appear  extremely  ridicu- 
lous. 

But  the  difference  in  public  opinion  was  soon  so  manifest 
that  Dr.  Logan  enjoyed  a  complete  but  guiltless  triumph 
over  his  adversaries.  The  most  sanguine  could  not  have 
promised  themselves  such  entire  success  as  had  attended 
his  enterprise. 

He  very  soon  went  to  Chester  to  pay  his  dutiful  respects 
to  my  mother.  I  accompanied  him,  and  we  afterwards  ex- 
tended our  ride  to  Wilmington,  the  residence  of  our  valued 
Cousin  Dickinson,  and  I  greatly  enjoyed  the  attention  and 
respect  with  which  he  was  everywhere  received,  so  different 
from  the  fear  and  shyness  which  was  visible  but  a  few  months 
before,  when  many,  who  were  otherwise  friendly,  appeared 
afraid  to  be  seen  speaking  to  him  in  the  street. 

But  now,  when  we  met  the  stages,  there  was  a  general 
burst  of  welcome  and  congratulation  ;  yet  I  know  that  he 

*  See  Appendix. 
87 


flDemoir  of  2>r,  George  Slogan 


repressed  any  public  expression  towards  himself  which  he 
thought  might  tend  to  exasperate  the  opposite  party. 

The  full  approbation  of  so  enlightened  and  virtuous  a 
citizen  as  John  Dickinson  weighed  much  more  in  his  esti- 
mation than  the  vain  breath  of  popular  applause,  which  often 
can  give  but  poor  reasons  for  its  praise  or  blame,  and  is 
frequently  swayed  by  circumstances,  fortunate  in  themselves 
but  out  of  the  control  of  the  individual  whom  they  praise,  or 
the  contrary,  the  result  of  which  is  equally  out  of  his  power.* 

Whoever  will  take  the  trouble  to  look  into  the  United 
States  Gazette  of  December  28,  1798,  will  find  the  address 
from  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania  f  and  the  equally  wise 
answer  of  the  President  of  the  United  States.  There  is 
likewise  a  notice  of  Dr.  Logan's  visit  to  Wilmington  in  the 
same  paper,  entirely  false  and  malicious. 

But  I  should  trespass  too  far  on  my  readers'  patience 
were  I  to  notice  all  the  calumnies  with  which  he  was  assailed. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  they  fell  innoxious  on  him.  The 
Gazette  likewise  contained  part  of  the  debate  in  Congress 
preparatory  to  the  passage  of  the  law  before  mentioned. 

However,  after  a  short  time  Dr.  Logan  thought  it  incum- 
bent upon  himself,  in  refutation  of  the  suggestions  of  his 
enemies  and  in  defence  of  his  own  character,  to  publish  the 
following  address  to  his  fellow-citizens  : 

*  See  Mr.  Dickinson's  letter  in  Appendix. 

f  This  is  an  address  from  the  Senate.  In  the  Gazette  of  the  2ist  of 
the  same  month  is  one  from  the  House  of  Representatives,  with  its  an- 
swer, all  touching  on  the  like  chord,  and  very  angry  that  an  unauthorized 
individual  should  have  dared  to  interpose  (and  successfully,  too)  in  avert- 
ing the  horrors  and  atrocities  of  war  from  his  own  country. 


flllcmotr  of  2>r.  (Seorse 


"To  THE  CITIZENS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES: 

"  Whilst  insinuations  injurious  to  my  character  were  confined  to  a  few 
public  prints  which  disgrace  our  country  by  ye  too  general  abuse  of  re- 
publican citizens  and  virtuous  strangers,  I  considered  them  as  unworthy 
of  notice,  confident  that  none  but  minds  totally  devoid  of  every  principle 
of  honour  and  truth  would  credit  or  propagate  them.  But  as  persons  high 
in  office  have  become  ye  agents  of  private  slander,  it  becomes  my  duty  to 
vindicate  myself  by  a  short  statement  of  facts,  leaving  to  my  slanderers  ye 
full  benefit  of  invention,  surmise,  and  falsehood. 

"  To  defend  and  support  ye  rights  of  our  country  as  an  independent 
commonwealth  is  certainly  ye  first  duty  of  every  good  citizen.  But  a 
state  of  war  is  inevitably  attended  with  so  many  calamities  that  an  en- 
lightened nation  will  seek  every  honourable  means  to  avoid  it.  With 
France  ye  situation  of  ye  United  States  appears  to  me  peculiarly  deli- 
cate, having  received  from  that  nation  ye  most  essential  services  during 
our  arduous  struggle  against  ye  wanton  injuries  and  oppressions  of  ye 
British  government. 

"  Under  these  impressions  I  embarked  for  Europe.  On  my  arrival  at 
Hamburg  I  met  with  that  distinguished  friend  to  our  country,  General  La- 
fayette. He  procured  me  ye  means  of  pursuing  my  journey  to  Paris. 
Regarding  himself  equally  ye  citizen  of  ye  United  States  as  of  France,  he 
views  with  particular  anxiety  ye  existing  difficulties  between  ye  two  re- 
publics, and  has  written  to  General  Washington  on  this  important  subject. 

"  I  arrived  in  Paris  on  ye  7th  of  August,  when  I  received  ye  first  cer- 
tain intelligence  that  our  commissioners  had  left  that  city  without  having 
accomplished  ye  object  of  their  mission,  and  that  all  negotiation  was  at 
an  end.  The  consul-general  of  ye  United  States  informed  me  that  an 
embargo  had  been  recently  laid  on  our  shipping  in  ye  ports  of  France, 
and  that  many  of  our  seamen  were  confined  as  prisoners. 

"  Unacquainted  with  any  law,  moral  or  political,  by  which  I  was  pro- 
hibited from  benefiting  my  country,  I  availed  myself  of  every  legal  means 
to  procure  an  interview  with  influential  characters,  when,  as  a  private 
citizen  of  ye  United  States,  I  gave  it  as  my  opinion  that  it  was  in  ye 
power  of  France,  by  acts  of  justice  and  magnanimity  worthy  of  her  elevated 
situation,  to  restore  harmony  between  ye  two  republics.  I  suggested  ye 
7  89 


flDemoir  of  2>r,  (Beorge  Slogan 


propriety  of  releasing  our  seamen,  confined  as  prisoners,  and  raising  ye 
embargo  on  our  shipping,  detained  in  their  ports.*  I  stated  that  acts  of 
this  kind,  taking  place  immediately  after  ye  late  declarations  of  friend- 
ship made  by  ye  Directory  to  Mr.  Gerry,  might  become  ye  basis  of  a 
happy  reconciliation. 

"  In  my  conversations  with  ye  citizens  of  France,  or  with  strangers 
whom  I  met  in  Paris,  I  spoke  of  ye  situation  of  my  country  as  I  felt,  but 
at  all  times  with  respect.  I  represented  that  ye  idea  of  a  party  in  ye 
United  States  ready  to  sacrifice  ye  government  of  their  own  country  to  that 
of  any  other  was  totally  without  foundation ;  that  ye  people,  constituting 
ye  sovereign  authority  and  enjoying  all  ye  advantages  of  a  representa- 
tive government,  had  it  always  in  their  power  to  alter  ye  constitution 
and  laws  of  their  country.  I  observed  that  ye  French,  not  being  so 
much  attached  to  commerce  as  to  agriculture  and  to  ye  arts,  it  was  un- 
doubtedly their  true  interest  to  place  ye  neutral  flag  on  ye  most  respect- 
able footing,  by  which  means  a  competition  would  take  place  in  their  own 
ports  for  ye  produce  of  their  agriculture  and  manufactures  in  exchange 
for  ye  productions  of  ye  United  States,  to  ye  advantage  of  France  ; 
that  no  people  were  so  well  calculated  to  afford  these  advantages  to 
France  as  ye  citizens  of  ye  United  States,  and  therefore  ye  commerce 
of  ye  United  States  in  a  peculiar  manner  merited  her  attention ;  that  it 
would  not  only  promote  ye  immediate  interest  of  France,  but  it  would 
redound  to  her  reputation,  to  recur  to  ye  original  principles  of  her  own 
glorious  revolution,  respecting  ye  neutral  flag,  and  secure  by  this  measure 
ye  first  step  towards  a  perfect  freedom  of  commerce  among  all  nations. 

*  Dr.  Logan  was  in  England  at  the  beginning  of  our  Revolutionary  War.  Being  at 
one  of  the  towns  on  the  seaboard,  he  learned  that  an  American  captain  was  confined  in 
the  jail  of  the  place  as  a  prisoner  of  war, — one  of  the  first  in  the  contest  that  had  been 
so  committed.  He  (Dr.  Logan)  visited  him,  and,  learning  the  particulars  of  his  case, 
lost  no  time  in  reporting  it  to  Dr.  Fothergill  and  David  Barclay  (men  who  to  great 
humanity  joined  a  strong  attachment  to  our  country).  They  interested  themselves  in  his 
behalf,  and  he  was  very  soon  liberated  on  his  parole. 

Many  years  afterwards,  when  with  Dr.  Logan  on  Rhode  Island,  I  heard  Captain 
Almy  express  his  grateful  sense  of  the  kind  office  which  had  been  done  for  him.  No 
restrictive  law  would  have  prevented  Dr.  Logan  from  trying  to  release,  by  any  legal 
means  in  his  power,  prisoners  of  this  description,  or  in  endeavouring  to  make  peace. 

90 


flDcmoir  of  Dr.  George  Slogan 


' '  Ye  politeness  of  a  foreigner  of  distinguished  talents,  whom  I  met  with 
in  Paris,  procured  me  an  interview  with  Citizen  Merlin.  My  visits  to  him 
were  those  of  a  private  friend  in  his  own  family.  On  one  of  these  oc- 
casions he  informed  me  that  France  had  not  ye  least  intention  to  interfere 
in  ye  public  affairs  of  ye  United  States ;  that  his  country  had  acquired 
great  reputation  in  having  assisted  ye  United  States  to  become  a  free  re- 
public ;  they  would  not  disgrace  their  own  revolution  by  attempting  its 
destruction.  He  observed  that,  with  respect  to  ye  violation  of  our  flag, 
it  was  common  with  all  neutrals,  and  was  provoked  by  ye  example  of 
England,  and  intended  to  place  France  on  an  equal  ground  with  her,  so 
long  as  she  should  be  permitted  by  ye  neutral  powers  to  avail  herself  of 
their  resources.  But  that  ye  Government  of  France,  averse  to  such  a 
competition,  were  contemplating  measures  to  make  their  laws  more  favour- 
able towards  neutral  nations.  In  confirmation  of  this  declaration  I  re- 
ceived whilst  at  Bourdeaux  a  letter  from  ye  consul-general  of  ye  United 
States  dated  Paris,  August  30,  in  which  he  says,  '  Ye  opinion  which  cir- 
culated when  you  left  us,  of  this  government  adopting  a  liberal  system  in 
regard  to  ye  flag  and  property  of  neutrals,  gains  ground  every  hour.' 
When  I  left  Paris  ye  ministers  from  ye  northern  neutral  powers  were 
earnestly  engaged  in  promoting  this  event  by  friendly  negotiation. 

"These  governments  are  jealous  of  ye  commerce  of  ye  United  States, 
and  if  an  accommodation  should  not  take  place  with  ye  French  republic, 
they  will  seize  ye  opportunity  to  procure  for  themselves  advantages  which 
it  may  not  afterwards  be  in  ye  power  of  ye  United  States  to  command,  and 
by  which  means  they  may  become  ye  carriers  even  of  our  own  produce. 

"Whilst  I  was  in  Paris,  Mr.  Skipwith,  ye  consul-general  of  ye  United 
States,  received  officially  from  ye  government  of  France  an  arret,  by 
which  ye  embargo  was  removed  from  all  American  vessels  in  ye  ports  of 
France,  accompanied  by  another  directing  ye  release  and  kind  treatment 
of  all  our  seamen.  He  was  also  at  ye  same  time  informed  that  ye  Di- 
rectory were  pursuing  measures  to  promote  in  ye  legislative  bodies  an 
alteration  in  their  laws  more  favourable  to  ye  rights  of  ye  neutral  flag. 

"  Believing  that  this  manifestation  on  ye  part  of  ye  republic  of  France 
would  be  highly  acceptable  to  my  country,  I  offered  my  service  to  ye  con- 
sul-general to  be  ye  bearer  of  his  despatches  to  ye  President  of  ye 

91 


flUemotr  of  Dr.  (Beorge  Xogan 


United  States.  I  understand  duplicates  were  forwarded  at  ye  same  time 
by  Major  Woodward  by  ye  way  of  Boston.  On  my  arrival  in  Philadel- 
phia I  embraced  ye  earliest  opportunity  of  waiting  on  ye  Secretary  of 
State  with  ye  public  despatches  intrusted  to  my  care.  I  had  a  long  con- 
versation with  him.  What  I  knew  of  ye  situation  of  France  I  expressed 
freely ;  everything  relative  to  my  own  conduct  which  I  thought  important 
I  communicated,  and  I  offered  voluntarily  to  answer  any  interrogatories  he 
might  think  proper  to  put,  and  to  communicate  any  papers  in  my  pos- 
session. It  was  then  in  ye  power  of  government  to  have  substituted  facts 
for  insinuations.  From  what  motives  they  have  rejected  ye  one  and 
chosen  ye  other  they  best  know.  I  also  waited  on  ye  President  of  ye 
United  States  soon  after  his  arrival  at  ye  seat  of  government ;  he  received 
me  with  politeness,  and  we  conversed  for  some  time  respecting  ye  relative 
situation  of  France  and  ye  United  States. 

"As  some  of  ye  most  respectable  citizens  of  ye  United  States  are  im- 
plicated with  myself  respecting  my  late  journey  to  Europe,  I  think  it 
necessary  more  particularly  on  their  accounts  in  ye  most  pointed  manner 
to  state  ye  following  facts  : 

"  I  did  not  go  to  France  at  ye  direction,  at  ye  request,  or  on  ye  ad- 
vice of  any  person  whatever.  I  went  for  my  own  pleasure,  with  my  own 
views,  and  at  my  own  expense. 

"  I  did  not  go  or  act  as  ye  agent,  official  or  unofficial,  of  any  man  or 
set  of  men  whatever.  I  did  not  carry  any  message,  letter,  or  introduction 
from  any  citizen  of  America  whatever  addressed  to  any  citizen  or  public 
body  in  France ;  ye  two  certificates  of  citizenship  which  I  carried  with 
me  were  addressed  to  no  one,  they  were  not  taken  or  ever  used  for  ye 
purpose  of  procuring  an  interview  with  any  citizen  or  public  body  in 
France,  but  such  as  I  thought  might  be  necessary  in  my  passage  through 
Germany  and  Holland.  I  never  conversed  with  any  person  in  France  in 
their  official  capacity,  or  as  being  in  any  public  capacity  myself,  nor  did  I 
associate  with  any  person  whose  name  I  am  afraid  or  ashamed  to  avow. 

"  If  after  these  declarations,  which  I  aver  to  be  true,  any  person  shall 
think  fit  without  proof  to  assert  or  insinuate  to  ye  contrary,  I  shall  regard 
or  rather  consider  him  as  a  contemptible  propagator  of  falsehood  and 
calumny;  convinced  that,  upon  the  strictest  examination,  my  conduct 

92 


flllemotr  of  Br,  (Seorse  Xo$an 


whilst  in  Europe  will  be  found  neither  dishonourable  to  myself  nor  injurious 

to  my  country. 

"  GEO.  LOGAN. 

"  STENTON,  January  12,  1799." 

NOTE  TO  THE  ADDRESS. 

"  This  Paper  was  first  published  in  the  Aurora,  and  so  great  was  the  demand  for  it 
that  it  was  republished  the  next  day  and  copied  into  many  other  papers  (Republican  ones, 
for  the  Federalists  as  a  party  were  not  generous  enemies).  I  now  copy  from  the  manu- 
script, which  perhaps  may  differ  from  the  printed  copy  in  a  few  words,  but  I  am  not  con- 
scious that  it  does  so.  The  following  introductory  notice,  which  was  afterwards  affixed 
to  some  of  the  copies  by  some  other  hand,  I  subjoin  because  of  the  fact  which  it  contains  : 

(From  the  Aurora.} 

"  No  people  on  earth  have  reserved  to  themselves  a  greater  proportion  of  power  in 
their  form  of  government  than  the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  yet  an  apathy  has  pre- 
vailed among  them  for  several  years  respecting  the  conduct  of  public  men  dangerous  to 
the  liberties  of  their  country.  We  must  except  from  this  general  charge  the  conduct  of 
an  individual  citizen  who,  at  a  critical  period  when  the  administration,  urged  on  by  a  des- 
perate faction,  were  on  the  point  of  involving  the  United  States  in  the  bloody  contest  of 
Europe,  procured  interviews  with  the  government  of  France,  and  by  his  private  in* 
dividual  efforts  laid  the  foundation  of  peace  between  the  two  nations,  for  which  on  his 
sailing  from  Bordeaux,  he  received  the  public  thanks  of  the  American  captains  and  other 
citizens  of  the  United  States  detained  there.  Dr.  Logan,  aware  that  his  negotiation 
with  the  Directory  might  be  considered  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  as  unofficial, 
and  as  such  might  be  neglected,  made  an  arrangement  with  Mr.  Schimmelpenninck,  am- 
bassador from  the  Batavian  republic  to  the  republic  of  France,  that  a  copy  of  the  docu- 
ments taken  by  him  to  the  government  of  the  United  States  should  be  officially  commu- 
nicated by  Mr.  Vans  Murray  at  The  Hague.  The  measure  thus  supported  was  attended 
with  success,  owing  to  the  magnanimity  and  sound  policy  of  President  Adams,  who  re- 
newed his  negotiation  by  the  mission  of  three  respectable  Federal  characters,  by  whom 
every  difficulty  subsisting  between  the  two  nations  was  immediately  adjusted.  (In  the 
former  negotiation  the  Directory  refused  to  negotiate  with  Generals  Pinckney  and  Mar- 
shall because  they  were  of  the  Federal  party,  or  the  English  party  as  they  termed  it.)" 


93 


CHAPTER  VIII 
IReturn  to  public  OLite 


y""  "  SHORT  time  after  his  (Dr.  Logan's)  return  he 
fj^  M  was  visited,  one  evening,  by  a  gentleman  whom 
he  had  met  with  abroad,  and  who  was  then  also 
about  returning  to  the  United  States.  This  gentleman  was 
a  Republican  in  politics,  and  after  the  ascendency  of  that 
party  in  the  government  has  been  more  than  once  em- 
ployed by  it  in  missions  to  foreign  courts. 

He  related  to  us  that  during  his  passage  at  sea  their 
vessel  was  chased  by  one  which  they  suspected  was  an 
English  man-of-war,  and  that  a  person  on  board  of  their 
ship  who  was  charged  with  despatches  from  Vans  Murray, 
our  minister  at  The  Hague,  became  excessively  frightened, 
and  wished  some  of  the  other  passengers  to  take  posses- 
sion of  his  papers,  which  they  refused  to  do. 

He  then  broke  open  the  packet  and  scattered  its  con- 
tents about  the  berths  and  under  the  furniture  of  the  cabin. 
The  vessel  in  view  did  not  prove  what  they  suspected, 
and  they  had  no  domiciliary  visit  from  an  enemy.  The 
fool,  then,  not  knowing  what  to  do  with  his  violated  de- 
spatches, did  not  offer  to  collect  its  contents,  but  suffered 
them  to  be  thrown  about  with  broken  seals  or  taken  up 
by  the  other  passengers  as  they  pleased  to  satisfy  their 
own  curiosity. 

Our  visitor  produced  several  of  these  letters,  directed  to 
Colonel  Pickering,  then  Secretary  of  State,  from  the  min- 

94 


flHemotr  of  2>r,  (Beorge 


ister  at  The  Hague,  and  observed  to  Dr.  Logan  that  himself 
and  his  visit  to  France  formed  part  of  their  contents. 

Dr.  Logan  refused  to  look  at  them,  and  requested  that 
his  guest  would  not  leave  them;  but  he  threw  them  on 
the  table,  declaring  that  he  knew  not  how  to  dispose  of 
them  himself.  When  he  was  gone  my  husband  remarked 
to  me  that  he  cared  not  what  they  said  of  him,  and  if  he 
did,  would  not  stoop  to  gain  information  from  such  a  clan- 
destine source. 

But  that  the  letters  might  be  useful  on  other  accounts 
to  the  government,  and  so  desired  me  to  seal  them  up  and, 
directing  them  to  Colonel  Pickering,  have  them  put  into  the 
post-office.  I  did  so,  and,  some  years  after,  relating  this 
adventure  to  that  gentleman,  he  told  me  that  he  had  been 
very  much  at  a  loss  at  the  time  he  received  those  letters  to 
account  for  the  way  in  which  these  solitary  remains  of  the 
despatches  had  reached  him. 

He  never  heard  anything  more  of  the  rest.  I  believe 
that  I  have  elsewhere  remarked  that  the  candour  and  dis- 
interestedness which  my  husband's  conduct  had  so  dis- 
played in  his  visit  to  France  had  impressed  the  Secretary 
with  sentiments  very  different  from  those  which  he  had  at 
one  time  entertained  towards  him,  and  was  the  foundation 
of  a  friendship  improved  by  their  being  afterwards  in  public 
life  together,  when,  however  they  might  differ  in  politics, 
they  found  abundant  reason  to  esteem  each  other  for  those 
qualities  which  united  them  as  patriots  possessing  one 
common  love  of  their  country,  and  all  those  ties  of  virtue 
and  honour  which  bind  the  loftiest  and  best  of  men  to  such 
as  are  like  themselves. 

95 


HDcmotr  of  Dr,  (Beoroe  Xogan 


This  little  incident  had  no  consequence  that  I  know  of, 
and  I  hardly  can  tell  how  I  came  to  insert  it  here ;  but  it 
may  serve  to  show  the  habitual  respect  which  he  constantly 
paid  to  what  was  right  in  all  his  actions. 


96 


CHAPTER  IX 

Election  as  "dniteo  States  Senator— Ube  Xooan 

Enacteo 

R.  MONROE  (now  (1821)  President  of  the  United 
States),  when   he   arrived  after  his   mission   to 
France,  was  most  coldly  received  by  the  party 
then  in  power.     But  in  general  Dr.  Logan  was  not  fond  of 
these  ceremonies,  and  always  excused  himself  from  attend- 
ing them  if  he  could  do  it  without  giving  offence. 

Speaking  of  the  return  of  Colonel  Monroe  from  France 
reminds  me  of  a  difference  which  he  had  at  that  time  with 
General  Hamilton,  which  Dr.  Logan  and  all  his  other  friends 
feared  would  eventuate  in  a  duel.  Happily  it  went  over 
without  producing  this  barbarous  consequence.  I  do  not 
recollect  enough  of  the  occasion  to  give  it,  but  the  explana- 
tion satisfied  without  producing  any  cordiality  between  the 
parties. 

A  vacancy  occurring  just  at  this  period  (1798)  in  the 
House  of  Representatives  of  this  State  for  the  county  of 
Philadelphia,  his  (Dr.  Logan's)  fellow-citizens  elected  him 
by  a  large  majority  over  the  most  popular  candidate  that 
his  adversaries  could  oppose  to  him.  He  knew  nothing  of 
this  election  himself  until  his  return  from  Jersey,  for  he  was 
absent  at  the  time  a  deputation  had  waited  on  him  to  know 
if  he  would  serve  if  elected,  and,  finding  him  from  home, 
had  interrogated  me  upon  the  subject. 

The  Republicans  rejoiced  exceedingly  at  this  election,  as 

97 


flllemotr  of  Br.  (Beorge 


deeming  it  an  unequivocal  sign  that  the  balance  was  turning 
in  their  favour.  In  fact,  it  was  their  first  triumph. 

The  disagreeable  fracas  which  occurred  during  one  of  the 
sittings  of  the  Assembly  was  produced  by  the  ranklings  of 
party  spirit,  and  may  serve  to  show  how  strong  and  diffusive 
were  its  effects.  But  in  this  he  (Dr.  Logan)  was  not  the 
aggressor,  nor  shall  it  be  further  noticed  by  me  than  to  say 
that  I  lived  to  witness  all  this  bitterness  between  the  parties 
removed,  and  to  see  cherished  in  its  place  sentiments  of  re- 
spect and  Christian  kindness,  for  such  was  the  disposition 
in  which  Dr.  Logan  and  his  antagonist,  many  years  after- 
wards, met  and  regarded  each  other  as  friends.* 

At  Lancaster,  where  the  Assembly  then  sat,  he  (Dr. 
Logan)  formed  many  acquaintances  and  some  friendships 
which  were  then,  and  afterwards,  productive  of  much  pleas- 
ure to  him,  and  among  them  I  must  place  in  the  foremost 
rank  his  friendship  with  the  venerable  Henry  Muhlen- 
berg,  who  to  a  disposition  fraught  with  humanity  and  be- 
nevolence to  his  fellow-men  added  the  interest  of  a  knowl- 
edge of  literature  and  science,  and  in  whom  he  found  a 
fellow-labourer  in  whatever  promised  to  promote  the  public 
good. 

By  their  exertions  an  agricultural  society  for  the  county 
of  Lancaster  was  organized,  and  met.  Dr.  Logan  also  in- 
troduced to  the  Legislature  a  bill  preparatory  to  the  Act  for 
the  Encouragement  and  Promotion  of  Agriculture,  Manu- 
factures, and  the  Useful  Arts,  and  he  published  about  the 

*  This  refers  to  a  personal  altercation  between  Dr.  Logan  and  a  highly 
respected  member  of  the  Legislature  from  Philadelphia.  It  is  not  easy  to 
say  which  of  these  gentlemen  was  the  aggressor. 

98 


4^r**mg  tt  m  unequi  vocal  sig 

ct,  it  was  their  first  triumph. 

tble  fracas  which  occurred  during  one  of  the 

he  Assembly  was  produced  by  the  ranklings  of 

'  irit,  and  m;  ;how  how  strong  and  diffusive 

its  eft  r.  Logan)  was  not  the 

aggress*  me  than  to  say 

i  een  the  parties 

r  re- 

vearv  a&ar- 


SB 

5 

x 

gp 
3 
D 


-oductive  of  much  pleas- 

P3 

n  I  must  place  in  the  foremost 

. 


good. 

By  their  exertions  an  agricultural  society  for  the  county 
of  Lancaster  was  organized,  and  met.  Dr.  Logan  also  in- 
troduced to  the  Legi:;  itvir.:  a  bill  preparatory  to  the  Act  for 
the  notion  of  Agriculture,  Manu- 

3f*  and  «  H;$  hly 

•  of  t  beat  gMffctaVwa  '-•»-  tibe  agfMvar 


\ 


flRemoit  of  Dr.  (Beetle  OLogan 


same  time  a  letter  addressed  to  the  citizens  of  Pennsylvania 
on  the  necessity  of  promoting  these  objects. 

Here  I  must  explain  m  what  manner  he  wished  manufac- 
tures to  be  encouraged.  It  was  such  as  the  farmer  sees  car- 
ried on  in  the  bosom  of  his  own  family  by  the  industry  of 
his  wife  and  daughters,  or  the  ingenious  mechanic  perfects 
in  his  own  shop  for  his  own  emolument,  untarnished  by  the 
profligacy  of  manners  which  too  frequently  attends  collect- 
ing people  to  work  in  large  manufacturing  establishments. 

He  constantly  himself  dressed  in  homespun  clothes,  and 
was  delighted  to  see  me  furnish  employment  to  our  poor 
neighbours  in  giving  out  flax  and  wool  to  be  spun  by  them. 
My  heart  whilst  I  write  is  sensibly  touched  with  the  recol- 
lection of  these  minor  but  most  endearing  traits  of  patriotism 
and  regard  to  the  welfare  and  comfort  of  all  classes  of  his 
fellow-citizens,  and  well  would  it  be  for  Pennsylvania  if  her 
councils  were  to  be  directed  and  her  laws  made  by  those 
who  could  claim  at  least  some  resemblance  to  this  most  up- 
right and  useful  citizen. 

The  first  business  of  Congress  at  their  session  after  his 
return  seemed  to  have  been  the  enacting  of  a  short  law  to 
prevent  in  future  that  interference  with  foreign  governments 
which  in  the  present  instance  had  forced  a  peace  upon  our 
own.  It  was  the  ebullition  of  party  vexation,  and  was  at  the 
time  denominated  "  Logan's  Law." 

I  do  not  particularly  know  whether  he  transgressed  against 
the  letter  of  it  when  he  afterwards  went  to  England  (though 
during  another  administration)  with  the  same  anti-warlike 
intent,  but  I  am  sure  he  thought  it  was  to  be 

"  More  honoured  in  the  breach  than  in  the  observance." 

99 


flRemotr  of  2>r.  (Beorge  Xo$an 


Much  was  said  by  the  Federal  gentlemen  in  Congress, 
especially  by  Robert  Goodloe  Harper,  Esq.,  in  attempting 
to  criminate  Dr.  Logan's  conduct,  which  tended  only  to 
produce  in  the  public  mind  a  more  thorough  conviction  that 
neither  by  word  nor  action  had  he  rendered  himself  amen- 
able to  the  censure  of  his  country,  for  this  was  the  termina- 
tion to  which  all  the  clues  of  his  enemies  finally  conducted. 

In  the  twelfth  month,  1799,  I  lost  my  honoured  and  most 
worthy  mother,  and  in  her  a  friend  who  had  tenderly  sym- 
pathized with  me  in  all  the  difficulties  and  anxieties  of  my 
situation  during  my  husband's  absence,  and  who  was  greatly 
esteemed  by  him.  And  in  the  following  year,  about  eight 
months  after  this  event,  it  pleased  Divine  Providence  to  re- 
move also  by  death  our  second  son,  Gustavus,  in  the  four- 
teenth year  of  his  age  (born  at  Stenton  October  6,  1786; 
died  August  20,  1800),  a  boy  of  so  uncommon  a  character 
that  were  I  here  to  attempt  its  portraiture  my  pen  might  be 
thought  to  be  transformed  by  a  parent's  partiality  into  a 
flattering  pencil,  for  he  had  the  very  best  and  ripest  judg- 
ment which  I  had  ever  seen  in  such  early  years,  united  to  a 
strict  regard  to  truth,  presence  of  mind,  and  great  courage 
and  generosity  of  soul,  joined  to  a  heart  the  most  tender 
and  affectionate,  which  fully  returned  our  ardent  attachment 
and  secured  to  its  amiable  possessor  the  love  of  all  who 
knew  him. 

In  person,  too,  he  exactly  resembled  his  father.  What 
the  loss  of  such  a  child  must  have  been  a  parent  alone  can 
estimate. 

In  1 80 1  Dr.  Logan  was  appointed  a  senator  of  the  United 
States  for  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  in  the  room  of  General 


IOO 


flDemoir  of  Br*  <Seor$e  Xogan 


Peter  Muhlenberg,  who  had  resigned  his  seat.  This  situa- 
tion was  bestowed  on  him  by  the  Executive  Magistrate 
without  the  smallest  solicitation  or  intrigue  on  his  part  what- 
soever, as  was  likewise  his  appointment  afterwards  by  the 
Legislature  of  the  State. 

He  sat  in  the  Seventh  and  Eighth  Congresses,  from  De- 
cember, 1801,  to  March,  1807,  and  might  have  been  con- 
tinued for  a  longer  term,  but  he  declined  a  re-election.* 

It  will  not,  I  presume,  be  expected  that  I  should  attempt 
to  give  in  this  sketch  any  account  of  his  (Dr.  Logan's)  sena- 
torial services,  for  I  only  know  that  the  good  of  his  country 
was  the  paramount  object  which  he  had  in  view,  and  to  which 
in  his  mind  and  practice  every  other  consideration  was  sub- 
servient. 

The  accession  of  Jefferson  to  the  Presidency  had  been 
hailed  by  a  majority  of  the  people  of  these  States  (for  the 

*(From  the  Aurora,  Friday,  December  18,  1801.  Extract  of  a  letter, 
dated  Lancaster,  December  16,  1801.) 

"  DEAR  SIR, — It  is  with  great  satisfaction  I  inform  you  that  George 
Logan,  Esq.,  has  been  this  day  elected  our  senator  in  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States.  The  votes  stood  thus  : 

George  Logan 68 

Joseph  Heister 30 

Samuel  Maclay 2 

Isaac  Weaver  .    .    .    .    , 2 

N.  B.  Boileau 2 

John  Kean i 

"  The  above  election,  I  hope,  will  fully  evince  the  falsity  of  the  assertion 
made  by  the  Anglo-Federalists  that  the  Republicans  wanted  unanimity, 
and  that  they  would  soon  effect  a  division  among  them." 

101 


flUemoir  of  Br.  (Beorae 


balance  was  now  fairly  turned  in  favor  of  the  Republican 
party)  as  a  most  auspicious  event. 

Even  now,  when  in  the  retrospect  of  those  times  when 
we  contrast  the  ability  with  which  his  inaugural  speech  was 
written  with  the  wildness  and  passion  of  President  Adams's 
conversation  and  conduct,  we  cannot  be  surprised  that 
reasonable  men  who  were  not  partisans  should  hope  the 
public  would  be  benefited  by  the  change. 

For  had  Adams  wished  to  have  given  his  fortunate  rival 
an  advantage,  he  could  not,  perhaps,  have  chosen  a  more 
certain  way  than  that  of  his  own  conduct,  his  enemies  being 
willing  enough  to  compare  the  darkness  of  his  last  night 
(of  which  his  friends  were  truly  ashamed)  with  the  promise 
of  a  bright  day  which  was  to  succeed  it. 

Did  we  not  often  see  very  strange  and  opposite  combi- 
nations in  the  characters  of  men,  we  might  wonder  at  the 
weaknesses  betrayed  by  one  who  had  borne  so  conspicuous 
a  part  in  asserting  the  independence  of  his  country  as  Adams 
had  done,  and  for  this  and  other  services  had  so  many  claims 
on  its  gratitude. 

One  of  these  weaknesses  (if  we  may  credit  the  reports 
of  that  day),  of  an  unaccountable  though  minor  cast,  which 
by  the  speedy  termination  of  the  project  occasioned  no 
great  loss,  was  the  facility  with  which  himself  and  his  Direc- 
tor of  the  Mint  lent  an  ear  to  the  proposal  of  a  rogue  who 
pretended  to  have  found  out  the  art  of  transmutation  of 
metals.  A  folly,  however,  which  may  be  laughed  at  with 
perfect  freedom  from  malice,  since  it  occasions  no  stain  on 
the  moral  character. 

Adams  and  Jefferson  had  been  at  one  time  in  habits  of 

IO2 


(memoir  of  Br.  George  OLogan 


considerable  intimacy  with  each  other,  and  I  remember  to 
have  heard  the  last-named  gentleman  say  that  he  greatly 
valued  Mrs.  Adams  as  a  most  sensible  and  prudent  woman, 
and  he  added  that  he  had  a  file  of  her  letters  which  he 
much  valued.  The  occasion  of  their  correspondence  was 
the  communication  which  her  husband  and  himself  kept  up 
when  on  their  respective  missions  to  England  and  France. 
Mrs.  Adams  wrote  for  her  husband  and  furnished  the  most 
valuable  and  authentic  information  (Jefferson  said)  that  he 
received. 


103 


CHAPTER  X 
Mis  delations  witb  -Jefferson's  Homtntstration 

HE  view  which  history  presents  to  the  mind  of  past 
events,  like  the  landscape  seen  with  the  outward 
eye,  loses  in  remote  distance,  or  only  shows  im- 
perfectly those  objects  that  want  a  bold  outline,  or  a  deci- 
sive colouring ;  all  the  lighter  shades,  or  less  vivid  objects, 
important  as  they  seem  in  the  foreground,  fade  as  they 
recede,  and  when  the  mischief  has  been  arrested  the  danger 
is  soon  forgotten. 

But  it  really  does  seem  to  me  that  if  the  false  principles 
upon  which  the  government  had  been  conducted  had  lasted 
a  little  longer,  or,  with  the  help  of  the  violent  party  spirit 
that  it  had  excited,  had  extended  a  little  further,  not  only 
would  the  progress  of  the  improvement  of  our  country 
have  been  impeded,  but  we  should  unhappily  have  witnessed 
it  turned  into  an  aceldama  wet  with  the  blood  of  our  best 
citizens. 

Yet  some  degree  of  disappointment  was  experienced  by 
even  the  Federalists  themselves,  as  well  as  by  the  best 
patriots  of  the  Republican  party,  when  they  found  that  the 
new  President  in  his  appointments  to  office  did  not  make 
good  that  impartiality  of  which  they  thought  he  had  given  a 
pledge  when  he  said  in  his  inauguration  speech,  "We  are 
all  Republicans ;  we  are  all  Federalists." 

For  he  dismissed  from  public  service  many  respectable 
men  and  excellent  officers  to  whom  no  fault  could  be  justly 

104 


flHcmoir  of  2>r.  (Beorge 


attributed  but  their  political  opinions,  and  bestowed  the 
places  which  they  had  held  upon  their  clamorous  and  exult- 
ing rivals.  It  was  not  amusing,  but  mortifying  to  us,  who 
had  indulged  in  a  kind  of  chivalrous  expectation  of  patriotism 
and  disinterestedness,  to  mark  the  avidity  with  which  offices 
of  emolument  were  sought. 

At  one  time  the  numbers  who  waited  on  Dr.  Logan  to 
ask  him  to  use  his  interest  with  the  President  on  their  be- 
half quite  surprised  me.  But  he  soon  gave  them  to  under- 
stand that  he  would  recommend  none  unless  their  characters 
and  abilities  fitted  them  for  the  places  which  they  aspired  to 
fill. 

I  remember  one  person  who  brought  a  petition  in  his  own 
favour  for  an  office  which  he  wished  to  obtain,  and  requested 
Dr.  Logan  to  sign  it. 

"Sir,"  replied  Dr.  Logan,  "I  have  not  the  pleasure  of 
knowing  you,  and  therefore  cannot  sign  your  recommenda- 
tion." 

"Oh,  sir,"  was  the  answer,  "that  is  of  no  consequence. 
You  know  the  gentlemen  who  have  already  signed." 

"True,  sir,  but  I  do  not  know  you,  and  therefore  you 
must  excuse  me." 

The  petitioner  went  away  in  a  very  bad  humour  at  his 
fastidiousness  in  being  determined  to  recommend  none  that 
he  did  not  know.  As  might  be  expected,  the  President  was 
very  much  harassed  with  these  applicants,  each  of  whom 
made  a  merit  of  the  services  which  they  had  rendered  as 
having  been  essential  to  his  elevation. 

So  that  it  seemed  as  if  a  general  principle  established  in 
the  beginning  might  have  saved  him  much  importunity  and 
8  105 


fincmotr  of  Dr.  <5eor$e 


trouble,  for  the  declaration  already  cited  was  received  at 
the  time  with  general  satisfaction.  We  were  all  then  ready 
to  inquire  with  the  poet, — 

"  When  shall  our  hated  deadly  faction  cease? 
When  shall  our  long  divided  land  have  rest  ?' ' 

If  it  be  true  that  power  is  the  great  corrupter  of  the 
human  heart;  that  power  changes  moral  character;  that 
"  great  power  or  a  long  possession  of  power  changes  a 
man's  moral  nature,"  then,  instead  of  wondering  at  some 
little  aberrations  from  the  straight  and  plain  path  of  recti- 
tude wherein  our  Presidents  ought  to  walk,  we  may  bless 
ourselves  at  the  salutary  check  provided  by  the  Constitu- 
tion in  the  certainty  of  a  return  to  private  life  ;  that  they 
have  given  us  no  greater  reason  to  complain  than  has  as 
yet  occurred. 

Yet  I  own  I  should  dread  to  see  in  that  station  a  man 
who  should  unite  to  the  popularity  which  Jefferson  pos- 
sessed a  bold  and  daring  character,  especially  if  he  were  a 
successful  military  chief.  May  a  good  Providence  defend 
my  country  from  this  danger ! 

The  President  was  soon  sensible  of  the  disunion  which 
about  this  time  took  place  in  the  Republican  party,  for  he 
said  to  Dr.  Logan  that  he  foresaw  what  would  ensue.  Men 
of  the  best  and  most  disinterested  principles  would  dissent 
from  the  less  scrupulous  and  more  violent  measures  of 
others,  who  would  possess  on  their  side  the  greatest  physi- 
cal force  and,  consequently,  would  be  dominant ;  and  my 
husband  could  not  hold  him  free  from  blame  with  this  dis- 
tinction in  his  mind  in  that  he  too  much  gave  his  weight  to 

106 


ORcmoir  of  H)r,  (Beorge  Xogan 


the  latter.     Yet  candour  must  acknowledge  that  his  situa- 
tion was  one  of  great  difficulty  on  many  accounts. 

One  of  Jefferson's  own  letters  will  best  tell  what  he 
thought  on  the  emancipation  of  the  blacks  and  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  slave-trade.  He  writes  to  Dr.  Logan  under 
date  of  May  u,  1805. 

(Mr.  Jefferson  to  Dr.  Logan.*) 

"WASHINGTON,  May  ii.  1805. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — I  received  last  night  a  letter  from  Mr  Thomas  Brannagan 
163.  S.  Water  street  Philadelphia,  asking  my  subscription  to  the  work  an- 
nounced in  the  inclosed  paper.*  the  cause  in  which  he  embarks  is  so 
holy,  the  sentiments  he  expresses  in  his  letter  so  friendly  that  it  is  highly 
painful  to  me  to  hesitate  on  a  compliance  which  appears  so  small,  but 
that  is  not  it's  true  character,  and  it  would  be  injurious,  even  to  his  views, 
for  me  to  commit  myself  on  paper  by  answering  his  letter.  I  have  most 
carefully  avoided  every  public  act  or  manifestation  on  that  subject, 
should  an  occasion  ever  occur  in  which  I  can  interpose  with  decisive 
effect,  I  shall  certainly  know  &  do  my  duty  with  promptitude  and  zeal, 
but  in  the  mean  time  it  would  only  be  disarming  myself  of  influence  to 
be  taking  small  means,  the  subscription  to  a  book  on  this  subject  is  one 
of  those  little  irritating  measures  which,  without  advancing  it's  end  at  all, 
would  by  lessening  the  confidence  &  good  will  of  a  description  of  friends 
composing  a  large  body,  only  lessen  my  powers  of  doing  them  good  in 
the  other  great  relations  in  which  I  stand  to  the  publick.  yet  I  cannot  be 
easy  in  not  answering  Mr  Brannagan's  letter  unless  he  can  be  made  sen- 

*  Branagan's  work  was  chiefly  among  the  Methodists  and  others,  but  I 
believe  the  work  here  meant  was  a  poem  entitled  "  Avenia."  He  was  an 
itinerant  preacher  who  had  been  an  overseer  in  the  West  India  Islands, 
very  sincere,  a  little  fanatical,  and  a  good  Democrat.  Dr.  Logan  executed 
the  commission  and  was  ever  after  friendly  to  the  good  man,  who  on  his 
part  returned  it  with  high  respect.  The  subject  of  the  poem  is  the  evils 
and  horrors  of  slavery  and  the  slave-trade.  Branagan  had  witnessed 
many  of  the  scenes  which  he  describes. 

107 


flDemoir  of  E)r.  (Beorge 


sible  that  it  is  better  I  should  not  answer  it ;  &  I  do  not  know  how  to 
effect  this,  unless  you  would  have  the  goodness,  the  first  time  you  go  to 
Philadelphia,  to  see  him  and  to  enter  into  an  explanation  with  him.  ..." 

I  think  it  is  hardly  in  my  power  to  render  a  more  accept- 
able service  to  posterity  (if  this  little  book  shall  be  re- 
served for  their  inspection)  than  to  insert  some  original 
letters  from  distinguished  men  with  whom  my  husband  was 
in  habits  of  friendship.* 

*  These  letters  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix. 


1 08 


CHAPTER  XI 
Corresponfcence  witb  Sefterson 

I  AM  now  come,  in  the  order  of  dates,  to  a  letter 
written  by  Dr.  Logan  to  President  Jefferson  at  a 
time  when  his  best  friends  in  Congress  had  be- 
come uneasy  and  dissatisfied  with  some  of  the  measures 
which  he  was  then  pursuing,  and  I  insert  it  with  the  greater 
pleasure  because  of  the  answer,  which  I  likewise  have  it  in 
my  power  to  give, — a  model,  I  think,  to  future  times,  of 
admonition   given  and   received  by  men   in   such   exalted 
stations. 

(Dr.  Logan  to  Mr.  Jefferson.*) 

"  WASHINGTON,  March  I2th  1806. 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR, — A  Friendship  of  many  years  standing,  founded  on 
your  many  personal  virtues,  may  excuse,  and  the  paramount  duty  I  owe 
my  country  will  Justify,  the  freedom  of  this  address. 

"  Your  Errors  in  conducting  the  Exterior  relations  of  our  country  op- 
press the  minds  of  your  best  Friends  with  the  most  anxious  solicitude. 
You  may  yet  retrieve  your  character  and  preserve  the  confidence  of  your 
fellow  Citizens. 

"  Call  together  your  too  long-neglected  council,  take  the  state  of  the 
Union  into  consideration ;  Submit  every  subject  with  frankness  to  discus- 
sion, and  unite  with  them,  determine  on  such  measures  as  may  preserve 
the  Peace  and  honour  of  our  Country. 

"  Your  own  Reputation  demands  that  you  should  recede  from  pre- 
tentions  that  are  demonstratively  groundless  and  unjust. 

"  No  Truth  is  more  thoroughly  established  than  that  '  there  exists  in 
the  Affairs  of  Nations  an  indissoluble  union  between  the  generous  maxims 

109 


flQemoir  of  Dr.  (Beorge  Xooan 


of  an  honest  and  magnanimous  Policy,  and  the  solid  rewards  of  public 
prosperity  and  felicity. ' 

"  I  am  with  sentiments  of  Respect 

"  your  Friend 

"  GEO  :  LOGAN 
"THOMAS  JEFFERSON  ESQR" 

Dr.  Logan  had  a  peculiar  talent  of  speaking  the  plainest 
truths  without  hesitation  or  fear  to  others  whenever  he 
thought  the  public  good,  the  good  of  an  individual,  or  the 
duties  of  friendship  demanded  such  a  proof  of  candour. 

He  had  been  at  this  time  frequently  importuned  by  Bald- 
win (who  was  himself  a  very  honest  man)  and  other  Repub- 
licans to  tell  the  President  of  faults  in  the  conduct  of  affairs 
which  they  thought  needed  correction,  with  which  he  fre- 
quently complied.  But  on  the  present  occasion  he  had 
suffered  much  uneasiness  of  mind  and  had  passed  a  sleep- 
less night  before  he  wrote  the  above  letter,  to  which  the 
following  answer  was  soon  returned  : 

"  March  I2th  1806. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — I  received  your  Letter  as  a  proof  of  your  Friendship.  I 
have  been  for  some  time  suspicious,  there  was  something  on  your  mind 
unknown  to  me,  and  of  which  I  thought  I  had  a  right  to  expect  an  ex- 
planation. We  may  differ  in  our  opinion  of  measures :  but  on  matters  of 
fact  we  cannot  differ  on  due  explanation.  My  present  malady  keeps  me 
through  the  whole  day  incapable  of  business  or  conversation,  and  obliges 
me  therefore  to  ask  an  interview  any  evening  that  suits  you  on  the  subject 
of  your  Letter. 

"Accept  affectionate  Salutations, 

"Tn:  JEFFERSON."* 

*  The  interview  took  place  soon  after.  The  heads  of  departments  were 
convened,  and  some  projects  respecting  the  occupation  of  Florida  were 
abandoned.  But  previous  to  this  time  the  affairs  of  state  had  worn  a 
threatening  aspect.  A  war  with  Spain  appeared  to  be  at  hand,  for  the 

no 


HDemoir  of  Br.  <5eorge  Xo$an 


The  note  alluded  to  in  this  letter  was  one  which  the 
French  minister  presented  to  our  government  by  order  of 
his  master,  Napoleon,  complaining  of  our  trade  with  St. 
Domingo  as  furnishing  the  blacks  with  arms  and  ammuni- 
tion. The  effect  of  which  note  was  very  perceptible,  for 
those  members  of  the  Senate  who  had  previously  voted 
against  Dr.  Logan's  bill  became  its  advocates. 

On  this  occasion  the  minister  of  France,  overtaking  Dr. 
Logan  in  the  street  at  Washington,  got  out  of  [his]  carriage 
to  thank  him  for  the  exertion  he  had  made  to  have  the  trade 
prohibited.  He  pressed  Dr.  Logan  to  take  a  seat  in  his 
carriage,  which  he  declining,  the  minister  at  length  said,  "  I 
believe,  sir,  you  are  ashamed  to  be  seen  with  Mr.  Tur- 
reau  ;"  and  the  doctor  did  not  take  any  pains  to  deny  the 
supposition,  for  it  was  the  truth. 

The  minister  having  been  a  ferocious  general  in  the  revo- 
lutionary army,  became  the  willing  tool  of  some  of  those 
sanguinary  monsters  who  deluged  their  unfortunate  country 
in  innocent  blood.  He  could  not  be  acceptable  to  any  vir- 
tuous citizen. 

The  reader  will  see  from  the  sentiments  expressed  in  this 
correspondence  with  what  hope  and  confidence  the  truly 
honest  and  patriotic  of  the  Republican  party  looked  up  to 
Jefferson  to  realize  the  fond  expectation  they  had  enter- 
tained of  advantages  to  accrue  to  their  country  from  his 
administration. 

President,  displeased  with  the  Spanish  minister  (De  Casa  Yrujo),  either 
for  being  a  spy  upon  his  actions  or  for  remonstrating  with  too  much  plain- 
ness, had  notified  him  to  leave  Washington  immediately,  and  the  United 
States  as  soon  as  the  season  would  permit. 

in 


flOcmotr  of  Dr.  (Beorge  Olooan 


And  if  upon  an  impartial  view  of  his  acts  we  perceive 
that  many  of  these  expectations  were  not  fulfilled,  and  that 
the  glimpses  of  a  pure  and  honest  policy  with  which  their 
imaginations  had  been  delighted  were  still  among  those  bless- 
ings to  be  desired,  rather  than  to  those  which  were  attain- 
able, yet  candour,  I  think,  must  allow  that  he  did  many 
things  well,  and  that  his  situation  was  one  of  great  difficulty 
from  the  almost  unexampled  situation  of  the  civilized  world. 

He  is  now  a  very  old  man,  and,  having  attained  the  sum- 
mit of  human  life  with  a  mind  and  faculties  unimpared  with 
the  length  or  fatigues  of  his  journey,  methinks  it  might  be 
matter  of  great  instruction  to  mankind  to  see  him  review 
his  own  conduct  with  the  impartiality  of  a  philosopher  and 
the  frankness  of  a  lover  of  truth  who  was  about  to  leave 
the  transitory  scene  in  which  he  had  been  so  distinguished 
an  actor.  We  should  then,  perhaps,  have  his  experience 
added  to  so  many  who  have  preceded  him. 

That  to  gain  the  highest  point  of  our  ambition  is  but  to 
obtain  the  certainty  that  we  have  followed  a  delusive  light 
which  has  conducted  us  to  care  and  anxiety,  but  not  to  en- 
joyment, and  that  there  is  a  void  in  the  human  mind  which 
popular  applauses  can  never  fill. 

But  I  check  myself,  for  I  do  not  belong  to  the  class  of 
his  calumniators.  I  can  readily  believe  that  he  has  loved 
his  country,  and  that  her  welfare  has  at  all  times  been  an 
object  paramount  to  his  heart.  If  he  has  at  times  erred,  or 
mistaken  the  means,  let  them  who  are  without  political  sins 
throw  the  first  stone. 

Time,  which  is  the  great  corrector  of  party  prejudices, 
enables  us  now  to  see  those  characters  who  have  in  their 

112 


flllemoir  of  Dr.  <5eoroe 


turn  given  place  to  others,  in  their  true  light,  unaccompanied 
either  by  the  false  glare  of  popular  admiration  or  the 
malign  vapours  of  party  rancour  and  hatred. 

And  of  this  I  think  we  may  be  certain,  that  if  the  eminent 
individual  we  have  been  speaking  of  had  been  guilty  of  half 
the  vices  and  sinister  views  which  (not  to  say  the  public 
organs  of  defamation,  but  the  highest)  Federal  authority 
has  sometimes  attributed  to  him  he  would  not,  it  is  probable, 
now  be  receiving  proofs  of  their  kindness  and  regard,  such 
as  we  have  lately  been  favoured  to  see  in  the  octogenarian 
correspondence  with  his  predecessor,  who,  with  his  usual 
frankness,  but  perhaps  without  thinking  of  the  rebound,  has 
been  pleased  to  admit  that  "  the  ass  has  kicked  in  vain,"  for 
he  adds,  "All  men  say  that  the  dull  animal  has  missed  the 
mark." 

Jefferson,  no  doubt,  smiled  at  the  confession.*  He  has 
another  no  less  extraordinary  correspondence  with  that 
very  honest  and  upright,  but  prejudiced  Federalist,  Colonel 
Pickering,  who  told  me  of  the  occasion  of  his  writing,  and 
of  the  kind  and  pleasing  answer  which  he  had  received  (and 
several  other  communications  passed  between  them). 

This  is  as  it  should  be,  for  the  evening  of  life  ought  to 

*  This  is  to  be  understood  as  alluding  to  former  attacks  upon  the  third 
President,  like  that  in  the  present  instance,  also  the  base  one  which  had 
then  been  recently  made  on  his  character  by  a  "  native  Virginian."  Nor 
could  I  help  regretting,  as  I  read  this  correspondence,  that  these  vener- 
able sages  were  not  favoured  with  some  glimpses  of  a  brighter  day  to 
succeed  our  being  here,  for  surely, — 

"  One  Eye  on  Earth  and  one  fast  fixed  on  Heaven, 
Becomes  a  Mortal — and  Immortal  Man." 

"3 


nDemoir  of  2>r,  (Seorae 


advance  unobscured  by  the  clouds  of  hatred  and  animosity, 
and  its  sun  be  seen  to  descend  irradiated  by  a  glory  of 
love  and  charity,  promising  the  renewal  of  a  brighter  day. 

And  it  is  truly  consolatory  to  behold  such  men  parting  in 
the  spirit  of  peace  and  kindness  with  each  other. 

That  he  was  a  favourite  of  fame  rather  than  fortune,  and 
that  the  plans  not  only  of  his  aggrandizement,  but  also  of 
that  of  the  two  "  pillars  of  his  age"  proving  his  successors 
being  realized,  show  that  he  had  laid  those  plans  warily  and 
deep,  and  that  he  has,  indeed,  "wielded  at  will"  the  "fierce 
democratic"  of  his  day.  But  whether  the  means  made  use 
of  have  been  at  all  times  such  as  a  good  man  would  be 
justified  in  adopting,  or  such  as  a  Washington  would  have 
used,  is  a  question  which  the  reader  must  resolve  for  him- 
self. But  I  have  no  scruple  in  saying  that  neither  that  il- 
lustrious character  nor  Dickinson  nor  Logan  would  have 
resorted  to  the  agents  which  he  sometimes  employed. 

It  would  be  an  act  of  injustice,  even  in  this  unfinished 
sketch  of  his  character,  not  to  notice  the  brilliancy  of  his 
talents,  variously  and  beautifully  cultivated,  his  love  of  let- 
ters, the  charms  of  his  rich  yet  easy  and  unaffected  conver- 
sation, the  urbanity  of  his  manners,  proceeding  not  so  much 
from  studied  politeness  as  from  a  humane  and  benevolent 
heart,  which  made  him  at  all  times  desirous  to  soften  the 
language  of  refusal. 

In  short,  he  had  it  in  his  power  to  have  been  of  the  most 
certain  and  extensive  benefit  to  his  country  and  to  human 
kind.  He  would  have  been  so  entirely  if  he  had  acted  up 
to  the  principles  and  professions  inculcated  and  declared  in 
his  beautiful  inaugural  address. 

114 


SONNET.     BY   MRS.  LOGAX 
F'ac-simile 


•ttftrtr  of  I 


>uds  of  hatred 

i  be  seen  to  descend  irradiated  by  a  glor 
and  charity,  promising  the  renewal  of  a  brighter  day. 
And  it  is  truly  consolatory  to  behold  such  men  parting  in 
the  spirit  of  peace  and  kindness  with  each  other. 

That  he  was  a  favourite  of  fame  rather  than  fortune,  and 
that  the  plaos  not  o»'  aggrandizement,  but  also  of 

his  successors 
hose  plans  warily  and 


• 

used,  is:   i  st  resolve  for 

self.     But  I  have  no  scruple  in  saying  that  neither  that  il- 

•in  would  have 
rtwct*  -Joyed. 

•lied 
- 

id  beautifully  cultivated  his 
the  charms  of  his  rich  yet  easy  and  urn-. 
sation,  the  urbanity  of  his  manners,  proceeding  not  so  much 
from  studied  politeness  as  from  a  humane  and  benevolent 
heart,  which  made  him  at  all  times  desirous  to  soften  the 
language  of  refusal. 

In  -  been  of  t 

man 

•-.-•i  acted  up 
ared  in 


fro 


ftt 


St    -tl.    ft}~VU      eHA.tVLHM.lJ 

feu  . 


A 


< 


ffcw 


6          * 


o       I 


.  .c 

i&'d 


CHAPTER   XII 
£>r  Xogan's  peace  emission  to  JEnglano 

I  HAVE  now  faithfully  related,  as  far  as  my  recol- 
lection and  the  documents  in  our  possession  would 
serve  me,  the  events  of  that  part  of  my  husband's 
life  in  which  he  was  engaged  in  public  business.  He  de- 
clined a  re-election  to  the  Senate,  which  he  might  have  ob- 
tained, and  which  I  had  reason  to  regret  he  had  not  ac- 
cepted, as  it  furnished  reflection  and  employment  to  a  mind 
so  devoted  to  the  best  interests  of  his  country  and  of  so- 
ciety that  they  appeared  peculiarly  his  province,  and  that 
mind  seemed  to  refuse  to  occupy  itself  with  interest  in  less 
important  concerns. 

In  the  beginning  of  1808  he  lost  his  valued  friend  and 
connection  John  Dickinson,*  who  died,  after  a  short  illness, 
at  a  time  when  the  attention  of  the  whole  civilized  world 
seemed  to  be  fearfully  arrested  by  the  portentous  display 
of  inordinate  ambition  wielded  with  ease  and  energy  by  one 
of  the  most  extraordinary  characters  that  has  ever  appeared 
on  the  theatre  of  human  affairs,  and  whose  decisions  seemed 
to  form  a  political  maelstrom  from  whose  destructive  vortex 
it  required  the  utmost  skill  of  our  pilots  at  the  helm  to  keep 
the  vessel  of  the  Republic. 

The  state  of  affairs  at  this  juncture  made  Dr.  Logan  ex- 
ceedingly desirous  of  visiting  England,  in  the  hope  that  his 

*  See  Appendix  for  correspondence  with  John  Dickinson. 


flDemotr  of  S>r,  (Beorae  Slogan 


philanthropic  exertions  in  the  cause  of  peace  might  have 
some  effect  with  persons  in  power  in  that  country  ;  and  the 
kindness  and  cordiality  with  which  his  representations  were 
received  would  have  warranted  the  supposition  in  minds  less 
sanguine  than  his  own  that  good  might  have  met  corre- 
sponding good  dispositions,  and  a  war  have  been  prevented, 
which  (not  to  count  the  treasure  expended)  has  cost  the 
lives  of  many  brave  and  faithful  citizens,  and  destroyed  the 
hopes  of  many  families,  besides  leaving  the  bloody  foot- 
prints of  hatred  and  revenge,  which  it  will  take  years  of 
peace  and  philanthropy,  to  obliterate. 

But  in  this  good  work  he  met  with  counter-action  from  a 
source  whence  only  assistance  was  looked  for,  not  from  the 
government  at  home,  for  President  Madison  afforded  him 
every  facility,  and  wrote  greatly  in  his  commendation  and 
favour  to  our  minister  at  the  court  of  St.  James,  desiring 
him  to  confer  with  Dr.  Logan  and  to  aid  his  benevolent 
views  all  in  his  power ;  but  in  this  instance  the  minister  did 
not  at  all  scruple  to  act  in  opposition  to  the  President's 
recommendation,  for  he  let  in  a  mean  unfounded  jealousy 
of  Dr.  Logan's  object,  heightened,  perhaps,  by  seeing  him 
treated  by  the  most  distinguished  characters  with  the 
greatest  consideration  and  respect,  and  obtaining  admission 
into  circles  from  which  his  own  want  of  moral  principles 
excluded  him,  notwithstanding  the  advantages  of  his  mission 
and  his  brilliant  talents. 

So  that,  although  Dr.  Logan  had  not  the  happiness  of 
seeing  the  war  averted,  his  visit  to  England  was  otherwise 
productive  of  a  great  deal  of  pleasure  to  him  in  the  renewal 
and  cultivation  of  various  friendships  with  excellent  indi- 

116 


HDemoir  of  Dr.  (Beorge  Xogan 


viduals,  as  the  many  letters   remaining  in  my  possession 
amply  testify. 

Perhaps  no  private  gentleman  whatever  that  has  visited 
that  country  from  this  ever  received  such  distinguished 
notice  and  respect  as  he  did  from  men  in  the  highest  esti- 
mation, among  whom  were  the  venerable  and  excellent 
bishop  of  Norwich,  T.  W.  Coke,  Esq.,  of  Norfolk,  the 
Duke  of  Bedford,  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  Sir  Samuel  Romilly, 
Lord  Lansdown,  Lord  Teignmouth,  Lord  Barham,  Sir  John 
Sinclair,  Robert  Barclay,  Thomas  Clarkson,  Wilberforce, 
Vansittart,  and  many  others,  of  whose  kind  attentions  to 
him  memorials  still  remain  among  his  papers,  so  that  he 
was  in  all  respects  (to  use  the  words  of  one  of  his  English 
friends  in  speaking  of  his  reception)  "  received  in  a  most 
suitable  manner  by  the  first  men  both  in  and  out  of  power."  * 
And  he  thought  that  his  ardent  wishes  that  peace  might  be 
preserved  between  the  two  countries  met  with  correspond- 
ing sentiments  in  almost  all  with  whom  he  conversed ;  in- 
deed, I  believe  I  might  safely  exclude  the  almost,  for  the 
war  was  wickedly  and  unnecessarily  brought  about  against 
the  expressed  general  wish  of  both  nations.^ 

*  See  Letters  in  Appendix. 

f  I  will  here  mention  a  circumstance  which  occasioned  a  great  deal  of 
feeling  in  the  outset  of  this  unhappy  contest.  One  of  our  vessels  (I  have 
forgotten  names,  but  of  the  fact  am  certain)  very  soon  after  the  procla- 
mation of  war  met  with  an  English  ship  at  sea,  very  friendly  and  unap- 
prised  of  that  circumstance  with  which  ours  was  acquainted.  But  they 
fought,  and,  after  a  severe  action,  the  American  was  victor,  and  the  English 
captain,  mortally  wounded,  was  brought  to  Philadelphia  and  placed  in  the 
Pennsylvania  Hospital,  where,  if  universal  sympathy  and  the  most  prompt 
and  skilful  surgical  aid  could  have  aught  availed,  his  life  would  have  been 

117 


flllcmoir  of  Br.  George 


Dr.  Logan  wrote  to  the  President  from  London,  giving 
him  an  account  of  the  earnest  disposition  which  was  mani- 
fested to  him  that  peace  might  be  preserved  between 
the  two  countries.  He  said  that  the  United  States  renew- 
ing their  commerce  with  the  belligerents  had  powerfully 
strengthened  their  friends  in  Great  Britain,  and  that  what- 
ever might  be  the  feelings  of  the  administration,  both  in 
and  out  of  Parliament,  they  expressed  a  wish  to  avoid  war. 
He  mentioned  the  different  annual  meetings  of  agricultural 
societies  which  he  had  attended,  to  which  the  best  and 
highest  classes  of  men  in  the  several  counties  belonged, 
who  had  done  him  the  honour  to  join  his  name  with  the 
ardent  wishes  they  expressed  to  see  a  complete  harmony 
restored  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States. 
This  was  the  case  at  a  large  agricultural  meeting  in  Surrey, 
likewise  at  Woburn  Abbey,  the  seat  of  the  Duke  of  Bed- 
ford, and  at  Holkham,  the  seat  of  T.  W.  Coke,  Esq.,  in 
Norfolk,  where  three  hundred  and  forty  gentlemen,  par- 
taking of  the  hospitality  of  its  liberal  owner,  expressed  with 
enthusiasm  the  same  sentiment.  And  the  same  sentiment 
is  reiterated  in  every  possible  way  in  the  numerous  letters 
and  notes  which  are  now  before  me,  received  by  this  be- 
nevolent and  patriotic  man  during  his  stay  in  England  from 
some  of  the  best  and  wisest  men  of  that  time. 

There   is   likewise  a  polite  note  from  the    Marquis   of 

spared ;  but  his  wounds  were  incurable.  He  bore  ample  testimony  to  the 
humanity  and  tenderness  with  which  he  was  treated,  but  lamented  for  his 
wife  and  family,  to  whom  he  was  fondly  attached,  in  a  way  that  pained 
every  heart.  Everybody  was  affected  at  his  melancholy  fate,  and  deplored 
the  fatal  cause  of  such  private  misfortune. 

118 


micinoir  of  H)r.  (Beorae 


Wellesley  requesting  an  interview,  which  took  place  soon 
afterwards,  and  which  gave  to  Dr.  Logan  an  opportunity 
he  had  much  wished  for. 

But  on  all  these  occasions  he  did,  as  he  had  constantly 
done  when  on  the  like  errand  in  France,  declare  himself  an 
unauthorized  individual,  and  that  he  stood  in  no  relation  to 
the  government  of  his  own  country  but  that  of  a  private 
citizen. 

Dr.  Logan  returned  to  his  own  home  at  Stenton,  after 
his  last  visit  to  England,  on  the  5th  of  the  eleventh  month, 
1810. 

My  remaining  notices  of  his  life  must  be  brief,  as  he  was 
not  engaged  afterwards  in  any  public  business,  and  his 
health  declined  considerably  for  several  years  before  his 
decease.  He  made  many  journeys  to  Washington,  and 
exerted  himself  both  by  writings  and  conversation  in  en- 
deavouring to  avert  war,  which  afterwards  unhappily  took 
place,  and  which  gave  him  the  most  poignant  uneasiness. 
Those  who  can  remember  minutely  the  various  circum- 
stances which  took  place  at  that  time  will  not  wonder  at  his 
anxiety,  the  national  happiness  being  suspended  and  its 
prosperity  put  to  extreme  hazard.  The  consequent  anxiety 
of  the  public  mind  can  only  be  compared  to  the  fearful 
state  of  watching  and  distress  which  we  feel  when  we  see 
a  beloved  individual  struggling  through  the  severe  par- 
oxysm of  a  fever.  So  that  the  inhabitants  of  these  States 
had  great  reason  to  rejoice  when  the  account  was  received 
of  the  termination  of  the  war  by  the  successful  negotiation 
at  Ghent,  which  truly  pleasing  intelligence  reached  us  Feb- 
ruary 12,  1815. 

119 


CHAPTER   XIII 
2>r.  OLoaan's  Deatb  an&  a  Sfeetcb  ot  bis  Cbaracter 


I  cannot  conclude  this  account  of  my  be- 
loved  and  honoured  husband  better  than  by  an 
extract  made  from  a  character  which  I  drew  of 
him  soon  after  his  decease.  That  lamented  event  took  place 
after  a  languishing  illness  of  many  months,  borne  with  a 
tranquillity  and  resignation  truly  exemplary,  on  the  Qth  of 
the  fourth  month,  1821,  aged  sixty-seven  years  and  seven 
months.  He  died  at  his  paternal  seat  of  Stenton,  where 
also  his  remains  are  deposited. 

This  little  memoir  is  sacred  to  the  virtues  of  his  heart 
and  to  his  domestic  worth. 

We  had  lived  together  nearly  forty  years,  and  the  most 
affectionate  love  and  entire  confidence  had  always  subsisted 
between  us,  from  which  I  had  reason  to  believe  that  I  per- 
fectly knew  his  character,  and  a  more  kind  and  humane 
heart  or  more  upright  and  just  intentions  I  am  sure  no  man 
could  possess.  He  spurned  the  idea  of  being  in  any  shape 
benefited  by  another's  loss,  and  in  all  his  dealings  with  his 
fellow-men  most  conscientiously  governed  himself  by  the 
golden  rule  of  doing  to  others  as  he  would  they  should  do 
unto  him,  so  that  in  this  age  of  cupidity  he  never  specu- 
lated, but  was  most  honest  and  direct  in  all  his  actions. 
The  Roman  who  wished  he  had  a  window  in  his  breast  that 
all  men  might  see  his  intentions  could  not  have  been  con- 
scious of  greater  rectitude  of  heart. 

I2O 


flnemotr  of  Dr.  0corge  Xogan 


He  never  feigned  what  he  did  not  feel ;  he  had  no  affec- 
tation whatever  in  his  character.  He  was  constant  in  his 
attachments,  a  most  tender  husband,  a  kind  father,  a  just 
and  good  landlord  and  master,  and  a  steady  and  efficient 
friend. 

His  honour  was  in  all  points  unblemished,  and  his  love 
of  truth  so  remarkable  that  he  could  not  bear  that  kind  of 
exaggeration  in  conversation  which  passes  unreproved  be- 
cause it  is  too  common. 

All  ostentation  he  despised,  but  both  loved  and  practised 
simplicity, — in  his  latter  years,  especially,  it  seemed  as  if  a 
departure  from  it  in  those  with  whom  he  lived  or  was  inti- 
mate was  extremely  wounding  to  his  feelings.  He  had 
none  of  that  selfish  and  uncandid  spirit  which  refuses  to 
acknowledge  itself  in  error,  nor  of  that  pride  which  seeks  to 
distinguish  itself  by  external  appearances. 

He  had  lived  a  life  of  great  temperance,  and  was  exceed- 
ingly domestic  in  all  his  habits,  delighting  to  return  to  his 
home,  and  enjoying  its  quiet  comforts  with  the  most  heart- 
felt satisfaction.  Alas  !  the  only  reflection  that  now  cheers 
me  is  the  thought  that  as  it  was  my  duty,  so  it  was  my 
pleasure  to  make  that  home  happy  and  delightful  to  him, 
and  where  while  life  remains  I  shall  never  cease  to  miss 
the  affection  and  kindness  which  doubly  repaid  me  for  every 
tender  assiduity. 

His  person  was  formed  with  exact  symmetry.  He  was 
about  the  middle  size,  erect  and  graceful  in  his  demeanour. 
His  countenance  would  not  be  easily  forgotten  by  any  person 
who  had  once  seen  him ;  it  had  an  expression  of  thought, 
benignity,  and  of  open,  unsuspecting  honesty  that  was  very 

Q  121 


flUemotr  of  Br.  (Beorge  Slogan 


remarkable.  He  walked  and  rode  extremely  well ;  indeed, 
when  on  horseback  his  air  and  appearance  were  noble,  and 
in  his  youth  he  was  remarkably  active.  His  mind  was 
wholly  unpolluted  by  avarice.  His  heart  was  tender,  and 
he  was  often  led  to  sympathize  with  others  in  their  dis- 
tresses and  difficulties.  Yet  he  had  a  quickness  of  temper, 
and  could  show  on  occasion  the  utmost  spirit  and  reso- 
lution, for  his  personal  courage  was  very  great.  He  was  a 
most  true  republican,  contemning  luxury  and  despising 
false  glory.  I  may  be  asked  for  the  reverse  of  this  picture. 
To  me  he  had  no  reverse,  but  was  exactly  the  kind  and 
good  and  upright  man  which  I  have  here  represented  him. 

He  was  most  willing  to  die,  often  saying  that  his  only  re- 
gret was  in  parting  from  me.  In  his  latter  years  he  had  it 
much  at  heart  that,  laying  aside  sectarian  prejudices,  the 
good  of  all  religious  societies  should  unite  to  promote  the 
great  designs  of  Christianity,  having  in  his  own  mind  real- 
ized that  happy  state  in  which  he  could  call  every  country 
his  country,  and  every  man  his  brother. 

Several  years  have  now  elapsed  since  the  foregoing  bio- 
graphical sketches  of  my  dear  and  honoured  husband  have 
been  written.  I  have  here  carefully  copied  them  out,  and 
have  made  some  additions  to  the  original,  both  of  letters 
and  of  what  I  have  thought  might  serve  as  illustrations,  with 
a  view  to  their  preservation  in  the  Loganian  Library,  a 
circumstance  which  I  very  much  desire,  both  from  my  own 
certainty  of  the  facts  which  I  have  related  and  the  earnest 
wish,  that  I  cannot  help  forming,  that  however  inadequate  to 
the  task  the  relator  may  have  proved  herself,  yet  that  a 

122 


DEBORAH   NORRIS   LOGAN 


flkmoir  of  Dr.  6ce»i  \w 

He  wall  rode  extreme 

when  on  horseback  his  air  and  appearance  were  noble,  and 
in  his  youth  he  was  remarkably  active.  His  mind  was 
wholly  unpolluted  by  avarice.  His  heart  was  tender,  and 
he  was  often  led  to  sympathize  with  others  in  their  dis- 
tresses and  difficulties.  Yet  he  had  a  quickness  of  temper, 
and  could  show  on  occasion  the  utmost  spirit  and  reso- 
lution r  great.  He  was  a 


much  at  heart  that,  laying  aside  sectarian  prejudices,  the 
good  of  all  religious  s  should  unite  to  promote  the 

great  i\  having  in  his  own  mind  real- 

call  every  country 


Several   _- 
graphical  sketches  of  my  dear  and  honoured  husband  have 

been  written.     I  have  here  carefully  copied  them  out,  and 

.  ..  .      MAOCXI  aiMHOVi  .HA>oaag 
have  made  some  additions  to  the  original,  both  of  letters 

and  of  what  I  have  thought  might  serve  as  illustrations,  with 
a  view  to  their  preservation  in  the  Ix>ganian  Library,  a 
circumstance  which  I  very  rmrh  Vv  »>,  trorr 

•:-•  >'r-         of  ilu-  ;.--  •  I  have  &'•  earnest 

?n,Hi"Huate  to 
tne  i&sK   th^'         ^  yet  that  a 


flDemoir  of  S>r.  <5eor$e 


knowledge  of  them  by  the  public  may  [be]  the  means  of 
securing  to  his  (by  me)  cherished  memory  at  least  some 
portion  of  "that  lasting  fame  and  perpetuity  of  praise 
which  God  and  good  men  have  consented  shall  be  the  re- 
ward of  those  whose  public  labours  advance  the  good  of 
mankind." 

Recollections  written  in  1820  and  inscribed  to  my  hus- 
band. 

Beings !  who  soaring  far  above 

Beyond  this  narrow  vale  of  tears, 
Say,  if  your  essences  are  love, 

If  you  regard  our  hopes  and  fears ; 
Oh  say,  whence  this  perpetual  strife, 

Whilst  years  like  waves  oblivious  roll, 
The  future  veil'd  the  present  life, 
Not  worth  enjoyment  or  delight, 

The  Past,  a  treasure  to  the  soul? 

For  see  how  memory  decks  the  scene : 

To  me  she  brings  my  cherub  Boy, 
And  wisdom  like  a  Ray  serene 

And  soft  affections,  waken  joy; 
The  influence  radiates  o'er  my  heart, 

My  Mother's  honoured  voice  I  hear — 
From  such  illusions  can  I  part 
And  stoop  to  feel  the  present  smart, 

Or  drop  for  this  the  silent  tear? 

However  wayward  fortune  frown, 

Whate'er  the  fate  she  weave  for  me 
Still  memory  keep  thy  wonted  throne, 

Thy  wakenings  still  my  Dreams  shall  be: 
123 


flllemolr  of  Dr.  George  ILoaan 


Thy  magic  wreaths  of  many  a  flower 
Faded  perchance  to  other  eyes, 

Still  bloom  for  me,  and  deck  a  bower 
Sheenie  with  Iris-coloured  dyes, 
And  wafting  sweets  of  Paradise. 

For  scenes  of  life's  primeval  morn 
Dawned  like  an  Eden  here  below, 

A  Brother's  love  those  scenes  adorn 
An  early  Laurel  graced  his  brow : 

Still  memory  gives  th'  enchanting  sound 
My  Lycid's  Lyre  again  I  hear, 

Or  with  him  tread  o'er  Classic  ground 
Elate  with  hope,  or  pale  with  fear, 
As  erst  the  mighty  masters  steer. 

I  claim  not  ought  at  Beauty's  shrine, 
What  are  her  Triumphs  now  to  me? 

Short  lived  illusions — were  you  mine, 
Not  worth  one  note  of  minstrelsy; 

But  never  from  my  mind  be  torn 

Of  good  and  great  the  cheering  gleam, 

High  Talents  lodged  in  graceful  form 
Such  as  in  Dickinson  were  seen — 
Wisdom  and  Eloquence  serene. 

The  lowliest,  loveliest  child  of  spring, 
Whose  fragrance  scents  the  vernal  gale 

Borne  on  the  fairest  Zephyr's  wing, 
Is  sought  for  in  the  humble  vale. 

Modest,  beneath  the  verdant  shade 
Appears  its  flowers  of  royal  hue, 

And  such  an  emblem  just  pourtrayed, 
Pious  to  God  to  ffriendship  true, 
His  Mary's  virtues  meet  my  view. 
124 


flRcmotr  of  Dr,  (Beorge  logan 


But  lo !   as  in  the  Enchanter's  Glass, 
Rais'd  by  some  potent  Fairy's  wand, 

What  heroic  ages  seem  to  pass, 
What  wondrous  destinies  expand ! 

For  I  have  marked  an  Empire's  birth, 
Have  seen  its  Constellation  rise 

With  radiance  glancing  o'er  the  Earth. 
Daring  the  Sun  with  steady  eyes 
I  saw  her  Eaglet  mount  the  skies. 

And  yet  what  threatning  tempest  lowered 

How  was  thy  Bark  Columbia,  driven 
When  British  wrath  around  thee  pour'd 

Her  lurid  shafts,  like  those  of  Heaven? 
Dread  was  the  storm,  the  ocean  wide, 

The  distant  Port — ah  who  could  see? 
But  He*  the  Helmsman  God  supplied, 
Struggling  thro'  clouds  thy  Pole  star  eyed 
And  steer' d  thee  thro'  the  dangerous  tide : 

That  leading  star  was  Liberty. 

Oh  scorn  not !   tho'  no  minstrel's  fire 

Breathes  in  my  dull  unlettered  lay. 
The  heroic  muse  shall  Bards  inspire 

To  sing  the  Perils  of  that  day  : 
Unarmed,  yet  strong  in  freedom,  see 

The  ''Gathering"  spread  thro'out  the  land, 
Her  Plains,  one  vast  Thermopylae, 

Her  People,  all  a  Spartan  Band ! 

For  these  to  latest  ages  borne 

Fame  shall  delight  her  Trump  to  raise, 

For  these,  the  sad  lament  shall  mourn 
Destined  to  these,  the  historic  Page. 

*  Washington. 
"5 


flHcmoir  of  2>r.  (Beorge  Slogan 


Yet  not  the  Trump,  nor  yet  the  Page 
Confine  to  Deeds  of  arms  alone, 

But  tell,  "Peace  has  her  victories" 
Great  to  achieve,  and  hardly  won, 
Her  Triumphs — and  her  Civic  Crown. 

A  Triumph,  where  no  weeping  slave 

Follows  the  Conqueror's  blood-stained  Car; 
But  when  the  Patriot  dared  the  wave 

To  arrest  the  dread  array  of  war; 
Steadfast  of  heart,  in  counsel  wise, 

His  virtue  over  art  prevailed, 
And  gained  of  Peace  the  glorious  prize ! 

Whilst  Calumny  and  Faction  fail'd 

To  injure,  where  they  most  assail' d. 

Cheer  thee  my  love  !  and  let  the  Past 
Gleam  brightly  o'er  the  Present  hour: 

With  sails  unfurled — thy  own  the  last 
And  safe  from  Gallia's  vengeful  power, 

'Twas  thine  to  Triumph,  when  their  Prows 
Dashed  gaily  thro'  the  circling  brine : 

Its  Fleet  releas'd,  thy  Country  knows 
The  brave  Resolve,  the  pure  design, 
The  Counsel  and  the  Deed — were  TJiine. 

Alone,  a  stranger  to  Parnassian  clime 

Charmed  with  its  sweets  along  its  Dells  I  rove, 

Nor  dare  attempt  its  glittering  heights  sublime, 
Nor  pluck  the  Laurels  of  its  sacred  grove, 

Yet  still  I  linger,  for  I  fain  would  weave 
As  memory  opes  her  ready  stores  to  me. 

(But  be  the  verse  and  be  the  Garland  brief) 
Only  the  foliage  of  Minerva's  Tree, 
Symbol  of  Peace,  that  Peace  obtained  by  Thee. 

D.  L. 
126 


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127 


APPENDIX    II 

Xetters  from  2>r.  Xoaan  to  HUessrs.  nuerlfn,  OLepeau*, 
ano  Scbimmelpenntncfe 

[The  following  letters  were  written  by  Dr.  Logan  to  Merlin  and  Le- 
peaux,  members  of  the  Directory,  and  to  Mr.  Schimmelpenninck,  Batavian 
minister,  in  regard  to  the  relations  between  France  and  the  United  States, 
just  before  he  embarked  on  his  voyage  home.] 

{Dr.  Logan  to  Citizen  Merlin.} 

"  BORDEAUX  Sepr  gth  1798 

"  RESPECTED  CITIZEN, — I  embark  this  day  for  Philadelphia,  and  as  the 
dispatches  entrusted  to  my  care,  by  the  Consul  general  of  the  United 
States,  manifest  the  most  unequivocal  evidence  of  the  desire  which  the 
Government  of  France  has  to  preserve  peace  between  the  two  Republics, 
they  will  afford  sincere  pleasure  to  my  fellow  Citizens,  &  I  have  no  doubt 
but  that  the  most  effectual  measures  will  be  immediately  adopted  by  the 
government  of  the  United  States  to  meet  the  friendly  disposition  of  your 
Country. 

"  My  object  in  coming  to  France  was  to  state  such  circumstances  to 
Mr  Gerry  respecting  the  situation  of  our  Country,  as  might  have  induced 
him  to  conclude  a  Peace  before  his  return  to  the  United  States ;  but  as 
that  object  had  been  frustrated  by  his  departure.  I  considered  it  my 
duty  as  a  private  Citizen  of  a  free  independent  Commonwealth,  to  suggest 
to  you  as  well  as  to  other  officers  of  the  french  government  that  it  was  for 
the  honour  &  interest  of  France  to  act  with  justice  &  magnanimity 
towards  the  United  States. 

"  It  is  not  my  business  to  justify  the  conduct  of  the  government  of  my 
own  Country,  or  to  accuse  that  of  France.  I  consider  the  unhappy  diffi- 
culties which  have  taken  place  between  the  two  Republics  to  be  attributed 
more  to  the  intrigues  of  the  British  Court  than  to  any  disposition  to  injury 
on  the  part  of  either  People. 

"  My  Country  retains  a  grateful  sense  of  the  eminent  services  rendered 
by  France  during  our  revolutionary  war.  And  that  the  People  of  the 

129 


HppenMi 

United  States  sincerely  rejoiced  in  the  french  revolution  by  which  the 
rights  of  Man  have  been  restored  to  Millions  of  our  fellow  creatures  has 
been  manifested  by  the  animated  reception  given  to  Citizen  Genet,  the 
first  ambassador  of  the  Republic  to  the  United  States,  &  by  the  declara- 
tions which  Citizen  Monro  on  his  coming  to  France  communicated  from 
the  President  &  both  houses  of  Congress. 

"In  all  points  of  this  great  question  between  the  privileged  orders  & 
Republicanism,  the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States  are  not  united  in 
opinion,  but  this  diversity  of  sentiment  produced  no  bad  effects  until 
blown  into  a  flame  by  the  intrigues  of  the  British  Cabinet. 

"When  the  Government  of  England  acknowledged  the  sovereignty  of 
the  United  States,  it  did  not  arise  from  a  conviction  of  the  justice  of  the 
claim  of  the  People  of  the  United  States  to  live  under  a  Government  of 
their  own  choice,  but  was  owing  to  the  deranged  situation  of  her  finances,* 
by  which  she  was  rendered  incapable  of  continuing  the  war.  This  fact 
will  be  known  whenever  Temple  Franklin  publishes  the  life  of  Dr.  Frank- 
lin, who  entrusted  him  with  the  publication  &  who  was  one  of  the  Com- 
missioners who  assisted  in  making  the  treaty  of  peace  at  the  conclusion  of 
our  revolutionary  war. 

"The  ambition  of  Mr  Pitt  which  has  engaged  him  to  sacrifice  the  in- 
terest of  all  the  world  to  the  agrandizement  of  England,  &  which  ever 
since  his  being  placed  at  ye  head  of  the  administration  has  also  inspired 
him  with  the  desire  of  reinstating  the  influence  &  authority  of  Britain  over 
the  Citizens  of  the  United  States,  which  had  been  lost  by  the  miserable 
contracted  policy  of  his  predecessors.  Convinced  that  this  object  could 
not  be  obtained  by  military  force,  he  has  had  recourse  to  that  base  intrigue 
&  artifice  by  which  all  his  measures  are  so  strongly  marked.  A  Man  f  has 
been  sent  by  him  to  the  United  States  perfectly  qualified  to  accomplish 
his  views :  this  person  has  under  his  direction  a  Newspaper,  published  by 
an  acknowledged  British  Subject  at  the  seat  of  Government.  The  atroci- 

*  Dr.  Logan  was  possessed  of  some  curious  information  on  this  subject,  derived  from 
Dr.  Franklin  himself,  who  read  the  passage  in  manuscript  to  him.  Whether  it  is  re- 
tained in  his  works  as  now  about  to  be  given  to  the  public  I  cannot  say,  but  Dr.  Logan 
was  of  opinion  that  many  things  originally  contained  in  the  work  were  suppressed. 

f  Listen. 

130 


Hppenbtr 

ties  of  the  French  revolution,  altho'  the  authors  of  them  have  been  pun- 
ished by  the  Nation,  yet  they  are  made  use  of  to  wean  the  affections  of 
the  American  People  from  France.  The  violation  of  our  flag,  contrary  to 
the  treaty  &  the  repeated  abuses  &  outrages  of  Corsairs  under  the  flag  of 
the  French  Republic,  are  made  use  of  to  stigmatize  every  friend  to  France, 
&  republican  principles  as  an  enemy  to  the  United  States ;  insinuating 
that  the  Citizens  of  the  United  States,  who  are  admirers  of  the  french 
Revolution  &  the  advocates  of  Republican  principles,  would  sacrifice  even 
their  own  government  to  that  of  France,  when  on  the  contrary,  however 
attached  the  great  body  of  the  Citizens  of  the  United  States  may  be  to 
France,  they  are  only  so,  as  far  as  the  Government  of  France  acts  with 
justice  &  consistent  with  the  enlightened  principles  of  her  own  revolution. 
Should  she  lose  sight  of  these,  &  not  only  continue  her  depredations  on 
our  Commerce ;  but  violate  the  territory  of  the  United  States,  every  Citi- 
zen of  our  Country  will  become  her  enemy.  The  same  spirit  of  indepen- 
dence which  influenced  the  Citizens  of  the  United  States  to  oppose  the 
armies  of  Britain  in  1775  will  engage  them  at  all  times  to  oppose  the  hos- 
tile attacks  of  any  other  Government. 

"  France  not  being  a  mercantile  nation,  but  more  attached  to  the  manly 
pursuit  of  Agriculture :  it  is  undoubtedly  her  true  interest  to  place  the 
neutral  flag  on  the  most  respectable  footing,  by  which  means  a  competi- 
tion will  take  place  in  her  own  ports  for  an  exchange  of  the  surplus  pro- 
duce of  her  agriculture  &  manufactures,  for  those  of  foreign  Countries, 
highly  advantageous  to  France.  No  people  are  so  well  calculated  to  as- 
sure these  advantages  to  France,  as  the  Citizens  of  the  United  States  & 
therefore  the  Commerce  of  the  United  States  in  a  peculiar  manner  demands 
her  protection — Would  it  not  redound  to  the  honour  of  France,  to  return 
to  the  original  principle  of  her  revolution  respecting  the  freedom  of  Com- 
merce ?  Would  not  an  act  of  this  kind  contribute  to  bring  about  &  es- 
tablish the  new  law  of  Nations  respecting  neutral  Ships  ?  A  violation  of 
it  by  Britain  would  bring  down  the  resentment  of  all  neutral  Powers  on 
that  Nation. 

"Believe  me 

"  your  obliged  Friend 

"GEO:  LOGAN" 
*$* 


HppenMi 

(Dr.  Logan  to  Schimmelpenninck.*) 

"  BOURDEAUX  Sepr  9th 

"RESPECTED  CITIZEN, — I  embark  to-morrow  for  Philadelphia  with  dis- 
patches for  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  which  manifest  such  a 
spirit  of  accommodation  on  the  part  of  France  as  I  am  confident  will  be 
the  means  of  restoring  harmony  between  the  two  Republics.  As  an  in- 
dividual Citizen  interested  in  the  happiness  of  my  Country  permit  me  to 
return  to  you  my  sincere  thanks  for  the  friendly  part  you  have  taken  in 
promoting  this  good  disposition. 

"  In  some  conversations  with  you  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
appeared  to  be  an  object  respecting  which  you  were  desirous  of  receiving 
some  information.  I  lament  that  the  shortness  of  my  stay  in  Paris  pre- 
vented me  from  enjoying  more  of  your  interesting  company.  When  we 
might  have  conversed  on  this  subject  as  well  as  others  highly  interesting 
to  the  present  revolutionary  state  of  Europe. 

"  I  think  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  defective  as  it  affords 
an  opportunity  to  the  President  to  acquire  Legislative  influence  by  the 
numerous  offices  within  his  gift,  which  may  be  made  use  to  corrupt  the 
public  voice.  An  Executive  Magistrate  should  be  invested  with  all  the 
power  of  Community  to  put  the  laws  in  prompt  &  full  execution,  but 
should  never  be  placed  in  a  situation  to  influence  the  conduct  of  the 
Legislature  by  the  unrestrained  use  of  Public  Money,  or  by  a  right  to 
nominate  to  lucrative  office. — nor  in  any  case  should  his  voice  be  suffered 
like  a  Monarch  to  negative  the  will  of  the  Legislature.  These  are  evils 
in  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States ;  but  they  may  &  will  be 
altered  or  removed  when  the  People  by  a  little  experience  become  sen- 
sible of  the  danger  of  them.  The  Form  of  Government  of  the  United 
States  is  absolutely  permanent  on  Republican  principles ;  yet  admits  of 
great  alterations :  the  means  of  obtaining  which,  is  pointed  out  by  the 
Constitution. 

"A  Government  will  be  tranquil  &  happy  in  the  inverse  ratio  to  the 
expense  of  its  administration,  and  in  proportion  to  the  weight  &  influence 
which  individual  Citizens  may  possess  in  every  part  of  the  State.  Public 
offices  should  be  considered  honourable  not  lucrative,  when  the  latter  takes 

132 


BppenMi 

place  it  gives  occasion  to  intrigue  &  cabal  among  the  wealthy  for  the 
plunder  of  ye  industrious  Citizens  obtained  from  them  in  ye  form  of  taxes 
under  pretence  of  supporting  ye  Government.  And  the  private  municipal 
regulations  of  the  State  will  be  better  managed  under  the  direction  of  the 
Citizens  immediately  to  be  effected  by  their  administration,  than  by  the 
general  will  of  the  whole  government. 

"  I  feel  anxious  for  the  present  State  of  Europe  and  my  own  Country. 
Much  is  to  be  done  by  the  Philosophers  &  the  real  friends  to  mankind. 
The  public  mind  at  no  period  has  had  greater  occasion  for  instruction 
than  the  present  moment. 

"  Pray  remember  my  best  respects  to  your  amiable  family  &  believe 
me. 

"  your  Friend 

"  GEO.  LOGAN. 

"  To  CITIZEN  SCHEMMELPENNINCK 

Charge  des  Affaires" 

(Dr.  Logan  to  Citizen  Lepeaux.} 

"  BOURDEAUX  Sepr  loth  1798. 

"  RESPECTED  CITIZEN, — I  lament  that  my  short  stay  at  Paris,  prevented 
me  from  enjoying  more  of  your  interesting  company.  I  wished  to  have 
conversed  with  you  respecting  the  relative  situation  of  the  Sister  Repub- 
lics ;  and  on  the  present  state  of  France.  Respecting  the  first,  I  have 
written  fully  to  Citizen  Merlin,  which  Letter  I  wish  you  to  see.  However 
alarming  the  appearance  of  actual  hostility.  If  the  Government  of  France 
acts  with  a  magnanimity  worthy  of  its  present  elevated  situation  harmony 
will  be  restored  between  France,  and  the  United  States,  greatly  to  the  ad- 
vantage of  both  Countries ;  &  the  dark  schemes  of  the  British  Minister 
will  be  frustrated  by  the  wisdom  and  sound  policy  of  your  Government. 

"  The  unauthorised  severities  of  interested  Corsairs  under  the  french 
flag;  &  of  some  of  your  inferior  Courts,  have  been  very  prejudicial  to 
many  of  the  best  friends  to  France  in  the  United  States.  Some  cases  of 
this  kind  are  now  in  the  ports  of  France.  An  instance  of  which  may  be 
recognised  in  the  case  of  the  Columbus  Captain  Skinner  now  at  Rochelle. 
It  is  with  pleasure  that  I  hear  the  Directory  are  sensible  of  these  evils,  and 

133 


Hppenfcii 

are  about  to  have  them  rectified.  I  wish  as  a  real  friend  to  the  Revo- 
lution of  France,  that  the  new  order  of  things  established  by  it,  may  not 
be  defaced  by  the  horrid  system  of  Privateering.  I  believe  on  strict 
enquiry  it  will  be  found,  that  it  has  been  much  more  injurious  to  the 
moral  character  of  individuals  than  advantageous  to  the  Nation. 

"  How  far  Nations  may  be  destroyed  by  their  own  unjust  &  impolitic 
Laws,  deserves  the  attention  of  the  Philosophic  Statesman,  who  studies 
the  human  mind,  &  who  is  not  influenced  in  his  conduct  by  temporary 
expedients. 

"Sincerely  attached  to  the  principles  of  Republican  Government  I 
cannot  help  regarding  the  progress  of  them  in  France  with  anxiety, 
properly  conducted  they  will  eminently  contribute  to  the  happiness  of  her 
Citizens,  but  much  is  to  be  done  by  the  real  friends  of  the  Revolution  to 
frustrate  the  dark  designs  of  the  disaffected. 

"  I  admire  your  plan  of  affording  instruction  to  the  People.  I  wish 
you  may  be  enabled  to  carry  it  into  full  execution.  I  find  the  most  desti- 
tute Citizens  in  the  Villages,  regret  the  loss  of  their  Parochial  Curees, 
they  were  certainly  the  most  useful  &  benevolent  part  of  the  Clergy — 
your  system  will  replace  their  loss. 

"  Health  &  Fraternity 

"  GEO.  LOGAN 

"auCrroYEN  J:  M:  REVEILLERE  LEPEAUX 
"  du  Directoire  Executif  a  Paris" 


APPENDIX    III 

Correspondence  in  TRegaro  to  Jefferson's  ©pinions 
Concerning  tbe  TKHar  of  1T81I2 

(Thomas  Jefferson  to  George  Logan.*) 

"  MONTICELLO  Oct.  3d   13. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — I  have  duly  received  your  favor  of  Sep.  18  and  I  perceive 
in  it  the  same  spirit  of  Peace,  which  I  know  you  have  ever  breathed,  and 
to  preserve  which  I  know  you  have  made  many  personal  sacrifices,  that 
your  efforts  did  much  towards  preventing  declared  war  with  France,  I  am 
satisfied,  of  those  with  England  I  am  not  equally  informed.  I  have  ever 
cherished  the  same  spirit  with  all  nations  from  a  consciousness  that  Peace, 
Prosperity,  Liberty  and  Morals  have  an  intimate  connection.  During  the 
eight  years  of  my  administration  there  was  not  a  year  that  England  did 
not  give  us  such  cause  as  would  have  provoked  a  war  with  any  European 
government,  but  I  always  hoped  that  time  and  friendly  remonstrances 
would  bring  her  to  a  sounder  view  of  her  own  interests,  and  convince 
her  that  these  would  be  promoted  by  a  return  to  Justice  and  Friendship 
towards  us.  Continued  impressments  of  our  seamen  by  her  naval  com- 
manders, whose  interest  it  was  to  mistake  them  for  theirs,  her  innovations 
on  the  law  of  nations  to  cover  real  piracies,  could  illy  be  borne;  and 
perhaps  would  not  have  been  borne,  had  not  contraventions  of  the  same 
law  by  France,  fewer  in  number  but  equally  illegal,  rendered  it  difficult  to 
single  the  object  of  war.  England,  at  length  singled  herself  and  took  up 
the  gauntlet,  when  the  unlawful  decrees  of  France  being  revoked  as  to  us, 
she  by  the  Proclaimation  of  her  Prince-Regent,  protested  to  the  world  that 
she  would  never  revoke  hers,  untill  those  of  France  should  be  removed  as  to 
all  nations.  Her  minister  too,  about  the  same  time,  in  an  official  conver- 
sation with  our  Charge^  rejected  our  substitute  for  her  practice  of  impress- 
ment ;  proposed  no  other ;  and  declared  explicitly  that  no  admissible  one 
could  be  proposed.  Negotiation  being  thus  cut  short,  no  alternative  re- 

135 


Hppenfcir 

mained  but  war,  or  the  abandonment  of  the  persons  and  property  of  our 
Citizens  on  the  ocean,  the  last  one  I  presume  no  American  would  have 
preferred.  War  was  therefore  declared  and  justly  declared ;  but  accom- 
panied with  immediate  offers  of  Peace  on  simply  doing  us  justice,  these 
offers  were  made  thro'  Russel,  thro'  Admiral  Warren,  and  thro'  the  gov- 
ernment of  Canada,  and  the  mediation  proposed  by  her  best  friend  Alex- 
ander, and  the  greatest  enemy  of  Bonaparte,  was  accepted  without  hesi- 
tation. An  entire  confidence  in  the  abilities  and  integrity  of  those  now 
administering  the  government,  has  kept  me  from  the  inclination  as  well  as 
the  occasion,  of  intermedling  in  the  public  affairs,  even  as  a  private  citi- 
zen may  justly  do.  Yet  if  you  can  suggest  any  conditions  which  we 
ought  to  accept,  and  which  have  not  been  repeatedly  offered  and  rejected, 
I  would  not  hesitate  to  become  the  channel  of  their  communication  to  the 
administration.  The  revocation  of  the  Orders  of  Council,  and  discon- 
tinuance of  impressment  appear  to  me  indispensable,  and  I  think  a  thou- 
sand ships  taken  unjustifiably  in  a  time  of  peace,  and  thousands  of  our 
Citizens  impressed,  warrant  expectations  of  indemnification ;  such  a  west- 
ern frontier  perhaps  given  to  Canada  as  may  put  it  out  of  their  power 
hereafter  to  employ  the  tomahawk  and  scalping  knife  of  the  Indians  on 
our  women  and  children ;  or  what  would  be  nearly  equivalent,  the  ex- 
clusive right  to  the  lakes.  The  modification  however  of  this  indemnifica- 
tion must  be  affected  by  the  events  of  the  war.  No  man  on  earth  has  a 
stronger  detestation  than  myself  of  the  unprincipled  tyrant  who  is  del- 
uging the  continent  of  Europe  with  blood.  No  one  was  more  gratified 
by  his  disasters  of  the  last  campaign  ;  nor  wished,  more  sincerely,  success 
to  the  efforts  of  the  virtuous  Alexander,  but  the  desire  of  seeing  England 
forced  to  just  terms  of  peace  with  us,  makes  me  equally  solicitous  for  her 
entire  exclusion  from  intercourse  with  the  rest  of  the  world.  Until,  by 
this  peaceable  engine  of  constraint,  she  can  be  made  to  renounce  her 
views  of  dominion  over  the  Ocean,  of  permitting  no  other  nation  to  navi- 
gate it,  but  with  her  license,  and  on  tribute  to  her ;  and  her  aggressions  on 
the  persons  of  our  citizens  who  may  chuse  to  exercise  their  right  of  pass- 
ing over  that  element.  Should  the  continent  at  armistice  issue  in  closing 
Europe  against  her,  she  may  become  willing  to  accede  to  just  terms  with 
us ;  which  I  should  certainly  be  disposed  to  meet,  whatever  consequences 

136 


BppenMr 

it  might  produce  on  our  intercourse  with  the  continental  nations.  My 
principle  is  to  do  whatever  is  right,  and  leave  consequences  to  him  who 
has  the  disposal  of  them.  I  repeat  therefore  that  if  you  can  suggest  what 
may  lead  to  a  just  peace,  I  will  willingly  communicate  it  to  the  proper 
functionaries,  in  the  mean  time  its  objects  will  be  but  promoted  by  a  vig- 
orous and  unanimous  prosecution  of  the  wax. 

"I  am  happy  in  this  occasion  of  renewing  the  interchange  of  senti- 
ments between  us,  which  has  formerly  been  a  source  of  much  satisfaction 
to  me  ;  and  with  the  homage  of  my  affectionate  attachment  and  Respect 
to  Mrs.  Logan,  I  pray  you  to  accept  assurances  of  my  continued  Friend- 
ship and  esteem  for  yourself, 

"TH:  JEFFERSON." 

{Dr.  Logan  to  Thomas  Jefferson.} 

STENTON,  Deer,  gth  1813. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — Accept  my  thanks  for  your  late  friendly  and  interesting 
Letter.  Your  approbation  of  my  visit  to  France  in  1798  is  highly  satis- 
factory. Influenced  by  similar  motives,  I  visited  England  in  1810.  To 
a  person  so  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  spirit  of  the  constitution  of 
the  United  States  as  you  are,  it  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  say  any  thing 
in  Justification  of  the  acts  of  any  private  Citizen  to  promote  the  pros- 
perity and  happiness  of  his  Country. 

"  During  a  residence  of  five  months  in  England,  I  travelled  one  thou- 
sand miles  thro'  that  country;  I  visited  the  principal  commercial  and 
manufacturing  cities,  and  became  acquainted  with  the  agricultural  in- 
terest— I  had  a  fair  opportunity  of  ascertaining  the  sentiments  of  men 
in  every  situation  of  life,  respecting  the  unhappy  contest  between  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain.  I  found  a  general  anxiety  prevail, 
that  harmony  and  peace  should  be  restored,  equally  beneficial  to  both 
countries. 

"An  erronious  opinion  is  entertained  by  some  few  men  in  the  United 
States  of  the  decline  and  fall  of  the  British  Empire.  That  Country  at  no 
period  of  its  history  was  more  powerful,  free,  and  respectable  than  at  this 
moment.  The  successful  stand  she  has  made  against  the  Tyrant  of 
Europe,  has  occasioned  the  Continental  powers  to  regard  her  with  venera- 
tion. 

10  137 


HppenMi 

"  Knowing  (as  they  must  know)  that  the  liberty  and  weal  of  their 
country  depends  on  the  correct  habits  and  information  of  the  people; 
The  Princes,  Nobility  and  patriotic  Citizens  of  every  religious  and  politi- 
cal opinion,  are  uniting  in  distinct  societies  for  the  purpose  of  educating, 
and  by  a  general  distribution  of  the  holy  scriptures  giving  moral  instruc- 
tion to  the  destitute  part  of  the  community.  This  is  the  most  honourable 
and  beneficial  measure  ever  adopted  by  the  Citizens  of  that  nation,  and 
will  secure  its  liberty  and  prosperity. 

"  The  sordid  views  of  British  merchants,  under  the  falacious  name  of 
British  Interest,  has  less  influence  over  the  Cabinet  of  St.  James  than 
formerly.  The  landed  agricultural  interest  is  becoming  more  powerful — 
It  is  a  great  but  quiescent  interest,  on  whose  collective  knowledge  and 
integrity,  the  freedom  and  fate  of  that  country  depends.  Such  is  the 
present  favourable  aspect  of  the  British  nation — the  Reverse  is — First, 
The  immense  issue  and  circulation  of  Bank  notes,  beyond  their  intrinsic 
value. 

"  ad.  The  extent  of  her  manufacturing  system  has  in  an  alarming 
degree,  increased  mendicity  in  her  manufacturing  towns :  and  has  brutal 
ized  the  manufacturing  population — particularly  since  the  introduction  of 
machinery.  Children  from  the  tenderest  infancy,  as  soon  as  their  fingers 
are  capable  of  twisting  a  thread,  or  feeding  a  carding  machine :  are  by 
the  misery  or  cupidity  of  their  parents  immured  in  great  manufacturing 
establishments,  without  the  benefit  of  education  or  moral  instruction — 
However  monstrous  this  is,  it  is  not  the  only  evil.  The  working  manu- 
facturers are  united  into  Jacobinical  clubs  against  their  employers,  and  in 
opposition  to  the  laws  of  the  land ;  frequently  occasioning  such  tumults 
as  to  render  a  military  force  necessary  to  suppress  them.  An  ignorant 
debauched  population  is  the  most  unstable  support  upon  which  a  Govern- 
ment can  depend.  The  strength  of  a  nation  is  in  the  moral  character  of 
its  people;  when  that  principle  is  debilitated  the  country  is  fast  ap- 
proaching to  ruin. 

"  3d.  The  extent  of  her  Colonial  establishments  is  contemplated  with 
anxiety  by  the  best  Patriots  in  Great  Britain — not  only  on  account  of  the 
immense  taxes  necessary  to  support  and  protect  them,  but  as  a  great 
political  evil.  Those  distant  colonies  affording  lucrative  offices  to  be 

138 


appcnbti 

bestowed  on  the  creatures  of  the  minister  for  the  purpose  of  creating  a 
parliamentary  influence,  repugnant  to  the  spirit  of  the  British  constitu- 
tion. 

"Notwithstanding  these  evils, — the  miserable,  contracted,  and  unjust 
Policy  towards  Ireland,  and  the  deprivations  of  the  People  of  many  of 
the  comforts  of  life,  owing  to  enormous  taxes  to  support  an  annual  ex- 
penditure of  more  than  one  hundred  millions  sterling,  yet  the  energies 
of  the  nation  appear  to  increase  in  proportion  to  the  difficulties  with 
which  she  has  to  encounter,  and  her  resources  are  still  unquestionably 
great. 

"  The  Orders  in  Council  of  the  British  Cabinet  as  a  measure  of  retalli- 
ation  on  France  for  her  Berlin  and  Milan  Decrees,  is  the  strongest  evi- 
dence of  the  want  of  foresight  and  political  wisdom  in  her  Councils. 
Had  the  British  Government  instead  of  uniting  with  the  Tyrant  of 
Europe,  to  annihilate  the  commerce  of  neutral  nations,  indignantly  pro- 
tested against  the  decrees  of  France  as  a  violation  of  the  laws  of  nations ; 
and  declared  herself  the  Friend  and  Protector  of  neutral  Rights,  she 
would  by  such  an  act  of  magnanimity,  have  united  every  neutral  in  her 
interest.  In  my  conversation  with  members  of  the  British  Government, 
I  urged  this  measure,  as  founded  on  principles  of  the  soundest  policy, 
and  in  my  Letter  to  Mr  Percival  I  observe  '  The  bickerings  and  semi  state 
of  Warfare,  which  has  existed  for  several  years  between  our  nations  have 
been  viewed  with  deep  affliction  by  the  best  men  in  both  countries — 
Since  my  arrival  in  England  I  have  had  oppertunities  of  conversing  with 
many  of  your  most  eminent  characters,  as  well  as  with  respectable  men  in 
every  situation  in  life.  I  have  not  met  with  one  person  who  does  not 
wish  a  reconcilliation  with  the  United  States.  My  public  and  private 
situation  in  my  own  country,  afforded  me  an  opportunity  of  becoming 
fully  acquainted  with  the  sentiments  of  my  fellow  Citizens — I  know  they 
anxiously  desire  to  preserve  peace  with  Great  Britain.  And  as  a  mani- 
festation of  their  sincerity,  they  have  renewed  their  commerce  with  this 
country ;  and  have  removed  every  obstacle  to  an  amicable  negotiation — 
Let  Great  Britain  with  the  same  laudable  intent,  remove  her  Orders  in 
Council — Let  her  declare  herself  the  advocate  of  Neutral  Rights,  such  as 
she  claimed  for  herself  and  conceded  to  others,  before  she  adopted  the 

139 


BppenMJt 

execrable  commercial  warfare  of  the  Tyrant  of  Europe — A  system  of 
Warfare  which  will  be  depicted  by  the  faithful  Pen  of  the  Historian,  in 
the  blackest  colours — a  warfare  by  "Decrees,  and  Orders  in  Council," 
dastardly  attacking,  the  humble  Cottage — the  Comforts — the  subsistance 
of  unoffending  women  and  children,  instead  of  meeting  in  an  open  and 
honourable  conflict  the  armed  Battalions  of  your  enemy  in  the  field.  Let 
her  return  to  the  safe  and  honourable  course  of  public  law,  which  she  has 
abandoned,  and  treat  with  the  United  States  on  terms  of  reciprocity, 
equally  honourable  and  beneficial  to  both  countries.  A  Treaty  of  Peace 
between  the  two  nations,  founded  on  such  principles,  will  concilliate  the 
Citizens  of  the  United  States  and  they  will  consider  Great  Britain  as  their 
real  Friend. 

"  '  My  dear  Sir,  for  Heaven's  sake  pause — and  from  the  elevated  situa- 
tion on  which  your  Sovereign  has  placed  you,  contemplate  agonising 
nations  at  the  feet  of  a  Military  Despot ;  and  say,  if  it  is  not  necessary, 
that  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  at  this  momentous  crisis  of  the 
world,  should  lay  aside  unfounded  Jealousies,  and  mutual  bickerings,  not 
only  to  protect  their  own  existance  as  independant  nations  but  to  pre- 
serve the  civil  and  political  liberties  of  mankind.  I  may  appeal  to  your 
own  superior  information  and  understanding.  If  you  are  acquainted  with 
any  truth  more  thoroughly  established  than  that  there  exists  in  the  affairs 
of  Nations,  an  indissoluble  union  between  the  generous  maxims  of  an 
honest  and  magnanimous  policy  and  the  solid  rewards  of  public  prosperity 
and  happiness.' 

"  This  nefarious  and  profligate  system  of  the  Orders  in  Council  as  con- 
nected with  the  licence  trade,  must  however  be  attributed  to  the  Min- 
ister, not  to  the  nation.  In  the  first  enactment  of  these  Orders,  the 
measure  was  opposed  by  many  of  the  best  informed  men  in  and  out  of 
Parliament;  and  when  I  was  in  London  in  1810,  I  did  not  meet  with  one 
man,  even  among  the  Friends  of  the  Minister,  who  could  defend  the  Act 
on  principles  of  Justice  and  sound  policy — in  fact,  such  was  the  clamour 
against  the  Minister  on  account  of  the  orders  in  Council,  that  himself 
contemplated  having  them  revoked  before  the  meeting  of  Parliament. 
And  that  such  was  actually  his  intention  is  confirmed  by  the  last  Letter  of 
Mr  Foster  to  Mr  Monroe  previous  to  our  unfortunate  declaration  of  war, 

140 


HppenMx 

in  which  he  observes,  '  It  was  France  and  afterwards  America  that  con- 
nected the  question  relative  to  the  Right  of  blockade  with  that  arising 
out  of  the  Orders  in  Council.  You  well  know,  that  if  these  two  questions 
had  not  been  connected  together  the  Orders  in  Council  would  have  been 
in  1810  revoked.'  Unfortunately  for  the  Peace  of  our  country,  not 
content  with  the  revocation  of  the  Orders  in  Council  as  dictated  by  the 
law  of  Congress  of  May  1810  Mr  Pinkney  in  his  letter  to  Lord  Welles- 
ley  of  Sepr  21  1 8 10  demands  a  Repeal  not  only  of  the  Blockade  from 
Elbe  to  Brest,  but  of  those  of  Zealand,  and  of  the  Isles  of  Mauritius  and 
Bourbon,  and  in  his  letter  of  January  i4th  1811  to  the  Same  Minister,  he 
speaks  also  of  other  blockades,  (including  that  of  the  Island  of  Zealand) 
which  the  United  States  expected  to  see  Recalled,  besides  the  blockade  of 
May.  In  this  Letter  he  suggests  an  idea,  directly  calculated,  and  per- 
haps designed  to  allarm  the  British  Ministry,  as  to  the  ulterior  views  of 
our  Government,  on  the  subject  of  Blockade  in  general,  and  to  discourage 
them  from  a  compliance  with  our  demands  concerning  the  blockade  of 
May.  He  observes,  '  It  is  by  no  means  clear,  that  it  may  not  be  fairly 
contended  that  a  maratime  blockade  is  incomplete  with  regard  to  States 
at  peace,  unless  the  Place  which  it  would  affect,  is  invested  by  land  as 
well  as  by  sea.'  Apprehensive  that  some  shuffling  conduct  of  this  kind 
would  be  the  result  of  an  official  communication  with  Mr  Pinkney,  I 
urged  in  my  letter  to  Sir  John  Sinclair,  and  to  other  gentlemen  in  London 
with  whom  I  conversed ;  that  the  King  &  Council  should  voluntarily,  and 
immediately  remove,  or  suspend  the  Orders  in  Council,  not  only  as  an 
act  of  Justice  to  the  United  States,  but  as  a  measure  of  sound  Policy  with 
regard  to  the  British  nation ;  as  tending  to  silence  the  Jealous,  and 
strengthen  the  well  disposed  real  American  Citizens  in  the  United 
States. 

"When  I  contemplate  the  Jealousies,  and  mutual  acts  of  irritation, 
which  for  some  years  have  taken  place  between  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain,  and  which  have  finally  terminated  in  a  war  equally  injuri- 
ous to  both  nations :  I  consider  both  in  the  wrong. 

"A  genuine  history  of  the  Errors  and  Follies  of  the  American  and 
British  Cabinets  towards  each  other,  would  form  an  important  and  in- 
structive work.  Governments  would  discover,  that  cupidity,  cunning, 

141 


Hppenfcii 

and  vindictive  retalliation,  have  always  been  attended  by  the  most  per- 
nicious effects.  Let  those  Statesmen  who  have  conceived  such  notions  of 
governing,  go  to  the  School  of  common  sense,  and  abandoning  the  odious 
maxims  of  Machiavelian  politics,  take  as  their  guide  the  pure  and  open 
principles  of  Him  who  preached  the  Doctrine  of  Peace  and  Good  Will 
towards  man.  To  be  sensible  of  misconduct  is  the  first  step  towards 
amendment :  but  this  will  be  looked  for  in  vain,  from  men  despising  the 
admonitions  of  experience,  and  who  appear  ignorant  that  the  strongest 
evidence  of  a  magnanimous  mind  is,  the  acknowledgment  of  error. 

"  The  Present  is  an  aweful  Period  : — the  Judgments  of  the  Almighty  are 
abroad  on  the  earth,  to  recall  its  thoughtless  inhabitants  to  a  sense  of 
their  duty,  whoever  has  marked  the  progress  and  seriously  reflected  on 
the  consequences  of  the  events  which  have  convulsed  every  part  of 
Europe,  must  be  blinded  with  more  than  common  scepticism  to  doubt 
this  truth.  The  miseries  under  which  the  European  world  is  groaning 
have  been  but  partially  extended  to  the  United  States — Let  us  hope 
therefore  that  we  shall  be  wise  before  it  is  too  late,  and  that  our  councils 
may  be  guided  by  prudence,  and  their  decrees  founded  in  justice — Let 
the  present  calamities  we  experience,  and  the  blot  which  this  miserable 
war  has  thrown  athwart  our  prospects,  induce  the  President  to  use  his 
best  efforts  to  restore  peace  to  our  country.  Should  he  continue  the  un- 
necessary war  in  which  we  are  engaged,  even  to  the  conquest  of  Canada 
from  the  British,  and  Florida  from  Spain,  at  the  expence  of  millions  of 
money,  and  the  loss  of  thousands  of  our  fellow  Citizens,  will  such  evils 
be  balanced  by  the  acquisition  of  new  territories,  the  possession  of  which 
will  remain  as  baneful  monuments  of  our  ambition  and  injustice :  and 
will  cherish  and  keep  alive  those  seeds  of  envy,  hatred  and  distrust  which 
sooner  or  later  will  produce  the  same  miseries  with  which  the  United 
States  are  now  impeded. 

"  It  may  be  generally  observed  that  the  larger  the  extent  of  Republics, 
the  more  they  have  been  subjected  to  Revolutions  and  misfortunes. 
Already  the  Citizens  of  the  United  States  inhabiting  the  Southern  and 
Northern  portions  of  the  Republic,  regard  each  other  with  jealousy  and 
suspicion.  What  then  of  Concord,  can  be  expected  in  our  Councils 
from  the  heterogenous  population  of  Canada  &  Florida  ?  On  this  ac- 

142 


HppenMi 

count  I  am  not  afraid  to  say,  that  in  the  present  situation  of  the  United 
States,  it  is  almost  equally  unhappy  for  its  Government  to  succeed,  or 
miscarry  in  its  enterprises  of  Conquest.  The  tranquillity  of  our  Repub- 
lican government  depends  upon  preserving  it  within  its  present  limits. 
We  enjoy  every  advantage  of  extent  of  territory,  climate  and  soil  to 
make  us  completely  independent  and  happy,  therefore  the  true  Interest  of 
the  United  States  is,  to  render  its  own  interior  condition  such  as  may 
make  it  not  only  independent  of,  but  respected  by  other  nations  ;  This  is 
only  difficult  to  Statesmen,  who  can  conceive  no  other  method  to  effect 
it,  than  war  and  violence — methods  that  ought  never  to  be  pursued,  with- 
out the  most  absolute  necessity. 

"  In  your  Friendly  Letter,  you  observe,  '  I  repeat  therefore  that  if  you 
can  suggest  what  may  lead  to  a  just  peace,  I  will  willingly  communicate 
it  to  the  proper  functionaries.'  Let  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  adopt  a  candid  and  just  as  well  as  magnanimous  conduct  to  allay 
the  storm  which  its  own  imprudence  in  hastily  declaring  war  has  occa- 
sioned. Let  the  President  immediately  propose  an  armistice,  as  a  pre- 
lude to  Negotiation.  Let  him  nominate  three  Citizens  of  honourable 
minds,  unbiased  by  personal  or  party  feelings,  as  Commissioners  to  re- 
store peace  and  harmony  between  the  two  Governments.  I  am  perfectly 
satisfied  from  personal  communications  with  many  of  the  most  respect- 
able, and  best  informed  men  in  England,  that  if  such  a  measure  is 
adopted,  Peace  will  be  obtained,  honourable  and  beneficial  to  all  parties. 
The  rashness  of  the  United  States  has  silenced  our  friends  in  Great 
Britain — but  has  not  destroyed  them — They  will  again  appear  to  support 
our  just  claims  consistent  with  the  honour  and  vital  interest  of  that 
nation. 

"Whatever  may  be  the  corruption  of  the  British  parliament,  or  the 
influence  of  the  Crown,  the  weight  of  public  opinion  is  Friendly  to  the 
United  States,  and  that  opinion  when  steadily,  firmly,  and  temperately 
sustained,  ultimately  prevails  over  the  projects  of  the  most  obstinate 
and  conceited  Minister.  I  wish  the  President  to  act  like  an  able  States- 
man, whose  views  are  not  confined  within  the  narrow  circle  of  those 
short  sighted  politicians  by  whom  he  is  surrounded  Let  him  employ  his 
influence  and  power  to  restore  the  blessings  of  Peace  to  our  distracted 


Hppenbti 

country.     No  other  enterprise  can  be  to  him  so  truly  honourable  and 
successful. 

"  Some  of  my  observations  may  appear  to  you  severe — but  those  are 
the  best  Friends  to  their  Country,  who  have  firmness  of  mind  to  point 
out  errors,  when  there  is  a  possibility  of  their  being  removed. 

"Accept  assurances 

"  of  my  Friend-ship 

"GEO:  LOGAN. 
"THOMAS  JEFFERSON  ESQR." 


144 


APPENDIX    IV 
Ube  Xetters  ot  3obn  Httcfetnson 

THE  personal  relations  between  Dr.  Logan  and  Mr.  Dickinson  were 
very  close  and  intimate,  and  their  political  opinions  were  evidently 
formed  on  the  same  model.  While  Dr.  Logan  was  a  Senator  of  the 
United  States  he  was  in  the  habit  of  submitting  every  measure  of  impor- 
tance which  came  before  that  body  to  the  judgment  of  Mr.  Dickinson. 
The  letters  which  follow  are  valuable  as  indicating  Mr.  Dickinson's  views 
upon  many  questions  of  historical  importance,  and  they  acquire  a  special 
interest  from  the  evident  eagerness  of  Dr.  Logan  to  be  instructed  by  the 
wise,  enlightened  patriotism  of  such  a  man  as  John  Dickinson.  They 
seem  to  form  part  of  the  political  education  of  Dr.  Logan,  and  are  given 
here  with  a  view  of  illustrating  that  subject. 

(From  John  Dickinson,  Esq.,  to  Dr.  George  Logan.} 

"  WILMINGTON  the  igth  of  the  I2th  mo  1801 

"  MY  DEAR  KINSMAN, — Thy  several  letters  with  their  inclosures  are  re- 
ceived, and  I  am  much  obliged  by  thy  kind  attentions. 

"At  last  I  have  the  high  satisfaction  of  congratulating  thee  on  thy 
Election  by  the  legislature  of  Pennsylvania,  and  in  so  honourable  manner. 

"Almost  at  the  same  instant  that  I  received  thy  pleasing  intelligence, 
thy  letter  arrived  announcing  the  Election  of  General  Sumter  as  Senator 
from  South  Carolina. 

"It  would  be  difficult  to  describe  the  sensations  which  the  two  joyful 
concurrent  events  produced  in  my  mind. 

"I  have  not  the  desired  pleasure  of  knowing  the  General,  but  his 
eminently  gallant  services  during  the  revolutionary  War,  and  his  excel- 
lent speech  in  Congress  in  1 798  in  favour  of  militia,  have  filled  my  mind 
with  exceedingly  great  esteem  for  him. 

"  I  hope  and  trust,  that  there  is  such  a  collection  of  sound  heads  and 
good  hearts  in  those  to  whom  the  '  ardua  negotia'  of  our  country  are  now 

US 


HppenMi 

committed,  that  their  proceedings  will  be  reputable  to  themselves  and 
beneficial  to  their  fellow  citizens.  There  is  nothing  to  be  apprehended 
but  from  too  much  ardour  and  too  much  haste.  " 

{From  John  Dickinson,  Esq.,  to  Dr.  George  Logan.*) 

"  MY  DEAR  KINSMAN, — I  have  received  three  letters  from  thee  with 
inclosures,  for  which  I  am  much  obliged  to  thee. 

"Our  sentiments  entirely  agree  on  the  subjects  mentioned. 

"  Long  since  I  communicated  to  the  President  my  ideas,  respecting  the 
cultivation  of  a  most  Friendly  connection  with  Russia  as  well  as  with  the 
other  Northern  powers. 

"As  to  that  panacea  for  all  political  evils,  an  effectual  militia,  I  cannot 
say  anything  stronger  than  those  Reflections  that  have  been  already 
published. 

"  The  expressions — '  high  degree  of  Security — weakness,  Jealousy,  Con- 
fusion, Misfortune  attendant  &c'  excite  alarm. 

"  If  the  circumstances  thus  alluded  to,  are  to  prevent  our  becoming  an 
Armed  Nation,  We  had  better  break  up  our  constitutional  compact  and 
acknowledge  to  the  world,  that  we  want  wisdom  and  virtue  enough  to 
continue  a  free  people. 

"  I  am  now  past  seventy,  so  that  I  may  expect  in  a  short  time  to  be  re- 
moved from  the  scenes  that  are  to  take  place  on  this  Globe : — but,  I  have 
Relations  and  Friends,  that  bind  Me  to  it  by  the  Tenderest  Strongest  ties. 

"All  these,  in  defiance  of  every  danger  apprehended  from  'Jealousy' 
and  suspicion  of  every  kind,  I  would  cheerfully  commit  for  their  safety — 
to  Me  an  object  of  unutterable  value — to  a  well  prepared  militia.* 

"  The-propriety  of  keeping  up  a  small  army  is  denied  by  none.  As  to 
that  nation  so  loved  by  thee  and  myself,  they  seem  to  have  given  them- 
selves up  with  a  wild  infatuation  to  be  the  Tools  of  inordinate  ambition  in 
their  present  Leader — Esteemed  People  !  Thy  Blood  and  the  earnings  of 
thy  honest  Labours  are  again  to  be  poured  out,  that  thy  unfeeling  masters 
may  revel  in  Pride  and  voluptuousness. 

*  "  After  having  seen  what  the  Militia  of  a  free  Country,  when  aroused  in  its  defence 
can  accomplish,  I  shall  never  dread  an  invasion  when  I  see  our  own  in  arms." — General 
Burgoyne  in  the  House  of  Commons. 

146 


Hppenfctr 

"I  do  not  recollect  any  late  event  that  gives  me  so  much  pleasure  as 
the  diplomatic  appointment  of  that  great  and  good  man  Monroe,  tho'  I 
am  not  personally  acquainted  with  him.  Thou  knows  how  well  disposed 
I  have  always  been  towards  aliens  emigrating  to  this  country ;  but,  I  must 
confess,  that  the  present  application  hurts  Me. 

"  Five  years  form  a  period  short  enough,  in  general,  for  establishing  a 
due  attachment  to  the  Interests  of  these  States. 

"  I  am  thy  truly  affectionate  Cousin 

"JOHN  DICKINSON. 

"  WILMINGTON 

"the  nth  of  the  ad  month  1803." 

(Letter  of  Mr.  Dickinson.') 
[Without  a  date,  but  supposed  to  have  been  written  in  1804.] 

"  Would  it  not  be  reasonable,  and  very  advantageous  to  the  United 
States  to  retain,  at  least  during  the  present  war,  larger  sums  than  they 
now  do,  on  the  amount  of  the  Drawback  on  all  goods  exported  ? 

"  Are  there  not  among  us  great  Numbers  of  European  Merchants,  who 
avail  themselves  of  the  Benefit  of  our  Neutrality  without  rendering  due 
compensation  for  the  same  to  these  States  ? 

"  Ought  not  these  compensations  to  be  made  ? 

"  Does  not  a  vast  Mass  of  property  continually  travel  in  this  manner,  to 
and  from  Europe  and  these  States,  and  between  these  states,  and  the  East 
Indias?  Is  not  a  prodigious  portion  of  this  Commerce  carried  on  by 
European  Merchants,  with  very  little  actual  change  of  property  ? 

"  Would  not  the  Reservation  of  larger  sums  as  above  mentioned,  be 
equitable  with  respect  to  real  Citizens  of  these  States,  especially  consid- 
ering what  large  profits  are  thrown  into  their  Hands  by  the  position  of 
Neutrality  which  this  Country  has  taken,  and  how  superior  those  advan- 
tages thus  vested  in  them  are,  to  any  in  which  their  fellow  Citizens  par- 
ticipate ? 

"  If  the  inclosed  observations  are  approved  by  thee,  I  wish  them  to  be 
communicated  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  or  so  diposed  of  by  thee 
as  shall  be  judged  most  proper. 

"  I  am  thy  affectionate  Cousin." 
147 


(From  the  same  to  the  same.~) 

"  MY  DEAR  KINSMAN, — I  am  much  obliged  to  thee  for  thy  Letter  of 
the  a6th  of  last  month,  and  the  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

"I  contemplate  with  delight  the  Regularity,  the  consistancy,  and  the 
power,  with  which  our  affairs  seem  to  be  advancing  towards  a  well 
ordered  and  firmly  established  commonwealth,  and  with  gratitude  the 
exertions  of  Virtues  and  Talents  from  which  under  Providence  so  many 
benefits  have  been  and  are  likely  to  be  derived.  How  much  public  and 
private  happiness  does  such  a  combination  of  excellent  qualities,  embrace 
and  cherish  !  I  have  used  the  words  '  seem  to  be'  and  '  likely'  because  in 
my  opinion  founded  on  the  History  of  Mankind  in  all  ages  and  all 
countries,  a  free  people  cannot  preserve  their  Liberty  unless  they  are  an 
armed  People ;  and  when  I  consider  the  present  and  probable  state  of  our 
Militia,  a  thick  gloom  spreads  over  my  mind.  If  we  continue  so  inactive 
as  we  now  are,  to  this  Paladium  of  our  Rights  and  Interests,  and  so  en- 
chanted with  the  delusions  of  ease  and  money,  the  time  will  come — 

'  How  my  Heart  trembles  while  my  Tongue  relates,' 

when  our  temporary  defence  will  depend  on  a  standing  army,  which 
finally  will  be  the  death  of  Freedom.  Then  the  dreadful  truth  will  be 
acknowledged  by  our  betrayed  posterity — that  a  Jefferson,  a  Madison, 
and  a  Gallatin,  have  lived  and  laboured  in  vain. 

"  My  Principles,  I  hope  are  recollected. — With  all  my  abhorresce  for 
War,  I  hold  it  to  be  guilt  of  the  deepest  dye  not  to  defend  to  the 
'  ultima  conata'  the  Blessings  which  our  adorable  Creator  has  bestowed 
upon  us.  It  is  part  of  a  Freeman's  Religion. 

"  ...  I  am  glad  to  hear  of  his  studies.  I  hope  he  will  aspire  to  the 
best  and  greatest  things.  Such  a  Resolution  strengthens  the  Mind,  and 
in  a  manner  insures  success.  '  I  call  that'  says  Milton  '  a  complete  and 
generous  education,  which  fits  a  man  to  perform  justly,  skilfully,  and 
magnanimously,  all  the  offices,  both  public  and  private,  of  Peace  and 
War.' 

"Attending  to  the  formation  of  such  a  character,  I  would  recommend 

148 


HppenMi 


to  every  young  gentleman  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  these  Books — 
Locke's  Works,  Tillotson's  Sermons,  Isaac  Barrow's  Treatises,  Burnet's 
History  of  the  Reformation  and  of  his  own  Time,  Paley's  Natural  Theol- 
ogy, Evidences  of  the  Christian  Religion  and  Moral  Philosophy — Tully's 
Offices — Grotious  de  Veritate — Rapin's  History  of  England  and  Tindal's 
continuation,  to  these  should  be  added  Milton's  Poems,  and  a  course  of 
experimental  Philosophy. 

"  With  the  warmest  wishes  for  the  happiness  of  thyself  and  those  who 
are  justly  precious  to  thee,  I  am 

"  thy  affectionate  cousin 

"JOHN  DICKINSON 
"  WILMINGTON  the 

"  Ijth  of  the  I2th  mo  1804." 

(From  the  same  to  the  same.} 

"  MY  DEAR  KINSMAN, — It  appears  to  me  from  the  4th  and  6th  articles 
of  our  federal  Constitution,  and  from  a  combination  of  relative  cir- 
cumstances, that  Louisiana  may  be  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a  State 
without  an  Amendment  of  the  Constitution,  and  without  receiving  the 
Consent  of  the  individual  States,  originally  forming  the  compact. 

"But  I  trust  in  the  wisdom  and  firmness  of  Congress,  that  in  the 
exertion  of  this  power,  it  will  not  be  hurried  or  Driven  into  any  meas- 
ures, which  it  would  not  have  deliberately  and  calmly  adopted,  if  it  had 
not  been  threatened. 

"  My  opinion  is  desired  on  the  other  question. 

"  If  Congress  has  not  '  a  power  to  prevent  the  sailing  of  private  armed 
ships  out  of  the  ports  of  the  United  States,'  I  don't  see  how  it  can  have  a 
power  to  prevent  '  Piracies'  which  the  Constitution  gives  it  '  power  to  de- 
fine and  punish.'  To  what  consequences  does  an  opposite  Doctrine 
lead  ?  To  sacrifice  our  Peace  to  the  inordinate  love  of  Money  in  some 
individuals ;  and  what  is  much  worse,  to  dishonour  our  character  in  the 
estimation  of  other  nations. 

"I  am  sensible  of  my  own  weakness  and  want  of  information,  and 
therefore  wh  ?n  I  differ  from  Congressional  proceedings,  to  which  so  many 
Virtues  and  Talents  have  been  parties,  My  Dissent  is  mingled  with 
respect. 

149 


HppenMi 

"But  how  shall  I  express  the  conflict  in  my  mind  between  that  Dissent 
and  that  Respect,  when  I  think  that  venerable  Body  adopts  a  conduct 
highly  disgraceful  to  our  Country  ? 

"  What  is  the  true  meaning  of  Congress  as  to  the  Trade  complain'd  of? 
Is  it  intended  to  put  a  stop  to  it?  No — It  is  profitable  to  some  indi- 
viduals. Is  it  admitted  that  the  Trade  is  contrary  to  the  Law  of  Nations  ? 
No — for  then  to  be  sure,  we  must  forbid  it.  Is  it  acknowledged  that  the 
Revolters  against  France  are  an  Independant  People  ?  No — not  in  words, 
but  in  Fact  we  will  deal  with  them  as  such.  Does  not  this  Trade  furnish 
them  with  the  Means  of  resisting  France  ?  Yes.  If  the  Blacks  of  Jamaica 
or  any  other  Island,  should  renounce  obedience  to  the  Government  of  the 
Island,  and  seize  strong  grounds  would  not  the  citizens  of  these  States  be 
as  Justifiable  in  supplying  them  with  arms,  ammunition  &c  as  in  supplying 
the  Revolters  against  France  with  these  Articles?  To  be  sure.  Will 
Congress  make  such  a  Declaration  ?  No  :  But  they  will  assume  it  as  a 
Principle  of  conduct  for  their  country. 

"  Let  us  candidly  enquire,  if  there  is  not  an  appearance  of  Duplicity  in 
the  proceedings  of  Congress  on  this  subject.  The  language  of  their  Acts 
ought  to  be  clear,  so  that  there  may  be  no  ambiguity  :  that,  in  the  present 
Instance,  under  a  thin  outside  of  provisions  is  concealed  an  actual  arma- 
ment of  her  Enemies  against  France.  To  conclude  this  disagreeable 
Tragicomedy  of  errors,  let  it  only  be  added,  that  the  '  Clearance  Bill'  is 
a  real  sanction  of  the  Trade  in  its  worst  aspects — Forms  only  being 
observed. 

"As  to  the  Judge,  however  I  may  have  been  hurt  by  his  Behaviour  on 
the  Bench,  I  cannot  decide  on  his  guilt,  untill  all  the  Evidence  shall 
appear. 
"  WILMINGTON  the  2jd  of  the  First  month  1805." 

(Extracts  of  Letters  of  the  ?th  and  nth  of  February,  iSoj. .) 
"I  am  very  glad  that  in  my  late  letter  to  thee,  before  I  knew  of  the 
Documents  that  had  been  presented  to  our  Government,  I  expressed 
myself  so  fully  and  earnestly  respecting  our  behaviour  as  a  neutral  nation. 
Do  let  us  speak  the  language  of  candid  men,  and  act  as  a  People  who 
believe  that  '  Honesty  is  the  best  Policy.' 


HppenMi 

"It  is  too  much,  that  the  dignity,  the  Peace,  the  Prosperity  of  these 
States  should  be  sacrificed  to  the  cupidity  of  Individuals. 

"We  shall  be  justly  scorned  by  mankind,  if  we  persevere  any  longer 
in  Duplicity  of  conduct.  We  have  worn  the  Mask  too  long.  The  Busi- 
ness is  before  the  Senate  and  I  rely  on  their  Integrity,  Wisdom  and  Patri- 
otism to  vindicate  the  cause  of  our  country. 

' '  I  rejoice  to  hear  of  the  safe  arrival  of  the  young  folks,  after  the 
alarming  adventure  at  Principio  Creek.  Ought  not  the  Post  Roads  to  be 
made  less  dangerous  than  they  now  are  ? 

"  I  thank  thee  for  thy  Letter  of  the  7th  and  the  Packets. 

"As  the  Historian  has  engaged  in  his  Letter  to  thee  to  'render  me 
the  Justice  to  which  I  am  entitled'  Respect  for  his  character  demands  my 
Reliance  on  his  Honour  for  the  performance  of  his  Promise. 

"The  Mode  of  proceeding  as  to  the  Trade  complained  of,  ought 
undoubtedly  to  be  clear  and  decisive.  The  President's  message  certainly 
intended  such  a  mode ;  and  the  Legislature  ought  to  act  up  to  his  fair  and 
just  Ideas.  I  want  words  to  express  my  feelings  on  the  conduct  of  others 
in  departing  from  them. 

"The  Trade  ought  according  to  thy  Plan  to  be  utterly  prohibited 
under  heavy  Penalties,  to  any  part  of  the  Island  held  by  the  Blacks  who 
have  Revolted  from  France.  Our  Measures  seem  to  be  calculated  for 
rendering  us  detestable  to  the  French  and  despicable  to  other  nations. 

"  Must  the  Happiness  of  these  States  be  surrendered  to  the  rapacious 
discretion  of  one  class  of  Citizens  ?  Some  Hope  yet  remains  of  better 
Things." 

{From  the  same.) 

"  MY  DEAR  KINSMAN, — I  am  much  obliged  to  thee  for  thy  Letter  of 
the  thirteenth  Instant.  The  disposition  of  the  Chief  Justice  is  such  as  I 
expected  from  him ;  and  I  trust  the  error  will  be  rectified  in  such  a 
manner  that  the  correction  will  accompany  it  by  being  inserted  in  the 
Work. 

"  From  some  words  in  thy  letter^I  apprehend  that  one  of  mine  has  mis- 
carried. In  that  I  expressed  my  wish  that  all  trade  with  the  revolted 
Blacks  might  be  prohibited. 

"  I  observe  in  the  Papers  a  Statement  made  to  which  I  do  not  accede. 


BppenMr 

It  is  therein  supposed,  that  the  Blacks  are  an  independent,  belligerent 
power,  and  that  we  have  a  Right  to  supply  them  with  any  article  not 
being  contraband. 

"  Considering  the  Title  of  France  to  the  Island,  our  past  and  present 
Relations  to  her,  and  a  variety  of  other  highly  important  circumstances, 
this  assertion  seems  to  me  to  be  dictated  by  the  eagerness  of  a  commercial 
Spirit  degenerating  into  an  all-confounding  Rapacity.  View  the  position 
in  all  its  bearings  and  then  be  pleased  to  consider  to  what  deductions, 
and  to  what  outrages,  Injuries  and  sufferings  it  will  lead,  and  how  much 
our  Reputation  must  be  affected. 

"  If  our  Counsels  are  to  be  warped  from  a  Strait  Course  by  the 
violence  of  peculation,  we  are  a  lost  people. 

"  I  am  thy  very  affectionate  Cousin, 

"JOHN  DICKINSON 
"  WILMINGTON,  i8th  of  the  2d  mo  1805." 

{Extract  of  a  Letter  of  the  6th  of  the  Eighth  Month,  1805.*) 

"All  circumstances  here  and  in  Europe  point  out  the  conduct,  we 
ought  at  present  to  observe.  Time  and  a  more  correct  estimate  of 
Interest  as  well  as  of  character,  will  produce  the  Justice  we  are  bound  to 
expect. 

"  I  should  therefore  wish  that  our  President  might  be  requested  by  the 
Senate  to  continue  his  negotiations  with  Spain,  for  the  purpose  of  termi- 
nating, if  possible,  the  differances  between  us  and  her  in  an  amicable 

manner." 

"WILMINGTON,  igth  1 2th  mo  1805. 

"  MY  DEAR  KINSMAN, — I  have  read  the  Message  again  and  again,  and 
the  more  I  study  it  the  less  I  like  the  most  important  sections  of  it. 
Perhaps  future  communications  may  throw  light  on  the  dark  parts.  At 
present  they  are  obscured  by  a  very  portentous  Gloom.  Particulars  are 
not  brought  into  view ;  but  they  must  be  outrageous  indeed  to  correspond 
with  the  Language  that  has  been  used  in  referring  to  them.  Surely,  we 
are  not  to  be  plunged  into  a  war,  on  account  of  such  characters  as  the 
Kempfers. 

"The  Idea  that  occurs  to  me  is  this — that  our  Government  has  com- 

152 


HppenMx 

mitted  moraentuous  Errors  in  the  Negotiation  with  Spain,  which  cannot 
well  be  retracted,  and  now  endeavour  to  cover  them  by  an  excitement  of 
national  passion.  I  have  not  the  least  doubt,  but  that  we  have  im- 
properly alarmed  and  provoked  her. 

"  The  Western  Limits  of  Louisiana  have  never  been  ascertained  by 
any  Treaties,  antient  maps,  or  Documents,  that  have  come  to  my  hands : 
yet, — I  have  reason  to  believe,  that  our  late  claims  extend  to  the  Rio 
Brave,  otherwise  called  the  River  of  the  North. 

"Then  again  to  the  North  Westward,  our  claims  as  far  as  I  am  in- 
formed, are  founded  on  Arbitary  Inferences  from  equivocal  Premises — 
Whether  Becoming  a  great,  just,  and  generous  Nation,  I  trust,  will  be 
most  solemnly  considered. 

"Perhaps,  without  deciding  on  the  property  of  that  vast  Country,  or 
even  in  allowing  the  property  of  the  greater  part  of  it  to  be  in  Spain,  the 
only  Benefit  that  for  ages  can  be  derived  from  it,  that  is  a  Right  of 
trading  with  the  Indian  Tribes  that  inhabit  it,  might  be  secured  to  these 
states. 

"As  to  our  Eastern  boundary,  if  it  cannot  be  now  finally  established, 
it  seems  to  me,  that  at  least  a  Convention  might  be  made  for  quieting  the 
possessions  of  both  parties,  untill  it  can  be  established.  This  measure 
has  frequently  been  adopted  by  nations  differing  about  their  boundaries. 

"  Devoted  as  I  am  to  the  Executive,  it  is  painful  to  Me  to  feel  myself 
compelled  to  think  as  I  do,  on  the  present  State  of  our  affairs. 

"  To  rush  into  war  at  this  time  for  Wildernesses  beyond  the  River 
Mexicano,  or  on  the  remote  waters  of  the  Missouri,  would  be,  in  my 
opinion,  madness.  We  want  them  not.  We  can  hereafter  have  as  much 
Territory  as  we  ought  to  desire.  Nothing  is  so  likely  to  prevent  such 
acquisitions  as  the  seeking  them  too  eagerly,  unreasonably,  and  con- 
temptuously. In  the  natural  course  of  things,  we  shall,  if  wise  gradually 
become  irresistable,  and  the  people  will  rise  into  our  population.  Let  us 
patiently  wait  for  this  inevitable  Progression ;  and  not  deprive  ourselves 
of  the  golden  Eggs  that  will  be  laid  for  us,  by  destroying  in  a  con- 
temptuous and  cruel  Frenzy  the  Bird,  that  if  left  to  itself  will  from  Day 
to  Day  supply  them. 

"If  thy  sentiment  on  this  subject  accords  with  mine,  let  me  most 
"  153 


HppenMi 

ardently  entreat  thee  to  make  the  strongest  and  most  incessant  exertions, 
to  bring  over  others  to  approve  and  act  upon  them.  Not  a  moment  is  to 
be  lost. 

"I  have  been  looking  over  some  parts  of  Fabius's  Letters,  in  which  a 
just  value  for  the  Blessings  of  Peace  is  contrasted  with  the  blind  Rage  for 
War,  and  the  superior  advantage  of  Negotiation  over  Arms  is  stated,  and 
if  the  Republication  of  them  at  this  period,  appears  to  thee  as  seasonable 
as  they  do  to  me,  I  shall  be  exceedingly  obliged  to  thee  for  having  these 
portions  published  again  in  some  newspaper  at  Washington.  Vol.  2d  p. 
271.  from  these  words  '  It  is  a  mournful  but"  &c.  to  the  end  of  page  272 
— and  then  Letter  i5th  from  its  beginning  page  273,  to  these  words  in 
page  280,  '  or  any  other  had." 

"Before  I  close  this  Letter,  I  must  recall  thy  attention  to  the  impolitic 
and  dishonourable  Trade  to  St  Domingo.  Renew,  I  beseech  thee,  in  due 
season,  thy  motion  to  prohibit  that  Trade  entirely.  Our  Rapacity  in  that 
Respect,  and  our  ambition  in  acquiring  Territory,  will  destroy  our  Peace, 
our  wellfare,  our  Reputation. 

"  Let  us  never  forget  how  Essential  a  character  for  Moderation  is  to  the 
Happiness  of  a  Republic,  nor  the  dreadful  Comment  made  upon  it  by  the 

league  of  Cambray. 

"  I  am  very  truly  &c  &c. 

"  JOHN  DICKINSON. 

"  Thy  second  Letter  with  the  Documents  is  received.  Is  my  late  Letter 
to  thee  received  ?' '  * 

(From  the  same  to  the  same.} 

"  WILMINGTON,  the  ist  ist  mo  1806. 

"  MY  DEAR  KINSMAN, — I  thank  thee  for  the  Report  of  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  and  for  thy  Letter  of  the  26th  of  last  month.     Nothing 
that  has  occurred  has  surprised  me.     Long  since  I  perceived  symptoms  of 
Errors  tending  to  confusion. 
"Let  us  still  Hope. 

"  I  wish  the  Author  (Chief  Justice  Marshall)  to  be  informed  that  I  am 
very  sensible  of  the  candour,  with  which  he  has  been  pleased  to  rectify 
the  Note  in  the  second  volume  of  his  work. 

*  This  letter  does  not  appear. 
154 


HppenMi 

"  What  I  thought  were  Errors  in  General  Washingtons  Conduct  as  a 
Commander  and  as  a  Statesman,  I  never  imputed  to  a  want  of  abilities, 
but  for  want  of  that  Information  which  a  more  extensive  acquaintance 
with  History  would  have  afforded. 

"  However,  I  always  considered  him  as  a  truly  great  and  good  man. 

"  His  Honesty  and  Firmness  throughout  our  severe  Contest,  establish 
his  Character  in  a  most  endearing  Light. 

"I  had  a  strong  conviction  of  the  Difficulties  he  had  to  encounter; 
but,  yet  I  had  not  such  a  knowledge  of  his  Merits  in  the  services  he  ren- 
dered to  his  country,  as  I  have  had  since.  I  read  the  second  volume  of 
the  History  now  publishing.  His  Memory  must  be  affectionately  cher- 
ished by  every  true  American,  by  every  Friend  to  Liberty. 

"Among  the  Elegancies  of  Grecian  Literature,  their  funeral  Inscrip- 
tions were  remarkable  for  Brevity,  Simplicity  and  Tenderness  of  sen- 
timent. 

"As  a  sample,  I  will  only  refer  to  the  Inscription  on  the  Monument 
erected  to  the  Spartans  who  fell  at  Thermopylae — '  Traveller !  Tell  at 
Sparta,  that  we  lye  here  in  Obedience  to  her  Laws. ' 

"Animated  by  the  subject,  I  endeavoured  to  imitate  such  compositions 
in  the  following  Lines — 

"  Stay  Passenger !     The  Dust  that  rests  below 
Was  once  named  Washington.     Reflect,  now — go?' 

"  WILMINGTON  30th  of  the  1st  month  1806. 

"My  DEAR  KINSMAN, — I  thank  thee  for  thy  Letter  of  the  25th  the  In- 
closures,  and  the  Pamphlet,  and  shall  be  obliged  to  thee  for  presenting 
my  thanks  to  the  Vice  President. 

"I  have  great  Reliance  on  the  Prudence  and  Justice  of  Congress. 

"  It  would  pierce  my  heart  with  grief,  if  we  should  give  other  nations 
any  cause  to  believe  us  a  rapacious  captious  People. 

"  Several  things  have  hurt  my  mind  :  But  our  country  has  not  yet  de- 
cided. Of  this  important  point  we  may  be  assured,  that  France  is  bound 
by  Treaties,  to  guarantee  the  Possession  and  claims  of  Spain. 

"  Clear  and  straight  as  is  the  path  pointed  out  to  us  by  Policy  and 
honour,  yet  when  I  consider  our  Conduct  respecting  the  infamous  San 

155 


Hppenfcii 

Domingo  Trade,  I  tremble.  I  rejoice  that  the  advocates  for  thy  Bill  are 
increasing.  Among  the  arguments  •  of  its  opposers,  I  could  not  forbear 
smiling  at  the  acuteness  which  discovered  how  pitiably  ignorant  the 
French  are  of  their  own  Interests,  for  that  it  was  really  for  their  benefit 
that  we  should  supply  the  Blacks  with  Powder  and  Ball  to  knock  them  on 
the  Head.  How  sophisticated  are  the  Doctrines  of  Vice  !  How  simple 
the  Precepts  of  Truth  ! 

"  Permit  me  to  call  thy  attention  to  the  Militia  Bill.  Some  Friends 
here  are  apprehensive,  that  it  may  in  its  present  form  bear  hard  upon  their 
society. 

"  Thou  knows,  how  Strong  is  the  obligation  to  preserve  from  all 
needless  suffering,  such  a  respectable,  peaceable  and  useful  class  of 
Citizens. 

"  I  am  thy  truly  affectionate  Cousin, 

"JOHN  DICKINSON. 
"  GEORGE  LOGAN 

' '  Senator  in  Congress. ' ' 

(Another  letter  of  nearly  the  same  date.} 

"  This  is  my  second  Letter  of  this  week.  In  my  last  I  intended  to  en- 
quire of  thee,  whether  thy  Bill  was  Strong  enough  to  make  a  total  prohi- 
bition of  the  infamous  traffic  it  was  designed  to  prevent. 

"  Suppose  the  thirst  of  gain  should  tempt  men  to  carry  it  on  without 
clearances,  what  Laws  of  these  States  would  they  thereby  violate,  and  to 
what  penalties  would  they  be  liable  ? 

"  If  any  further  provisions  are  necessary  to  compleat  thy  just  and  poli- 
tic plan,  can  they  not  be  introduced  in  the  House  of  Representatives  as 
Amendments  ? 

"There  plays  sometimes  before  my  Mind  an  Image  of  Policy  so  pure, 
so  wise,  so  benignant,  that  I  am  charmed  by  its  beauties. 

"Britain — falsely  ambitious,  and  foolishly  rapacious,  Britain — once  had 
it  in  her  power  to  render  it  the  Palladium  of  her  Happiness.  She  spurned 
the  heavenly  present  from  her.  Let  the  calamities  that,  since  her  impious 
conduct,  have  been  incessantly  worrying  her,  be  a  warning  to  other 
nations. 

156 


"  We  now  have  it  in  our  own  power,  to  practise  this  glorious  Policy, 
and  to  become  Blessings  to  Mankind.  Yet — my  Hope  that  we  shall  em- 
brace it,  is  almost  hopeless — Perhaps,  there  are  more  than  I  know  of,  that 
possess  thy  Uprightness. 

"  I  am  thy  affectionate  Cousin, 

"  JOHN  DICKINSON 
"  GEORGE  LOGAN 

"  Washington." 

{From  the  same.} 

"  6th  of  the  2d  mo  1806. 

"  I  have  read  the  Examination  of  the  British  Doctrine,  which  in  my 
opinion  displays  Genius  and  Information,  tho'  the  Interpolation  of  the 
sentiments  of  Jurists,  and  the  construction  of  Public  Documents  seem 
sometimes  to  be  overstrained. 

"We  have  distressing  difficulties  to  encounter;  and  I  dread  our 
committing  ourselves  in  some  rash  act,  prompted  by  a  partial  view  of 
things. 

"  What  Patriotism  will  there  be  in  adopting  the  dictates  of  Passion,  for 
securing,  if  thereby  they  can  be  secured,  the  short-lived  profits  of  a  sickly 
Policy  ? 

"  Let  us  look  at  the  State  of  the  World.  Every  advantage  we  bestow 
on  France,  is  a  weakening  of  Britain,  already  tottering  under  the  mighty 
contest.  Her  calculations  of  aid  are  all  failing.  Her  Resources  appear 
to  be  withering  to  the  very  roots. 

"  Will  it  be  wise  in  us  to  increase  her  Burthens,  and  accelerate  her 
Fall  ?  Will  not  her  Ruin  inevitably  draw  down  others  with  her  in  the 
tremendous  Crash  ? 

"  Does  the  Happiness  of  the  great  Body  of  American  Citizens  depend 
on  our  carrying  on  a  Trade  in  War,  which  we  have  not  been  permitted, 
and  never  shall  be  permitted  to  carry  on  in  peace  ?  No. 

"  Our  business  is  to  treat,  and  strive  to  agree  upon  some  Plan  of  Ac- 
commodation. 

"  I  perceive  Tempers  of  various  kinds  so  prevailing  in  Hostility  to  what 
I  have  been  taught  to  regard  as  Wisdom,  that  my  Hopes  of  national 
Prosperity  are  considerably  diminished — But — I  will  not  despair. 

157 


HppenMr 

"  May  Heaven  Bless  our  Representatives  with  soundness  of  Under- 
standing. 

"  I  am  thy  truly  affectionate  Cousin 

"JOHN  DICKINSON. 
"GEO:  LOGAN 

"  Senator  in  Congress. ' ' 

(From  the  same.} 

"  1 2th  of  the  2d  mo  1806. 

"My  DEAR  KINSMAN, — T  am  perplexed  by  thy  Question  on  the  third 
Resolution,  on  every  side,  not  only  difficulties  but  distresses  present 
themselves.  We  have  to  contend  with  a  high-spirited,  afflicted  People. 
Their  situation  will  render  them  more  than  usually  obstinate.  They  seem 
likely  for  a  while  to  stand  at  Bay  with  the  World. 

"  We  may  easily  advance  upon  them  with  Boldness,  but — if  Retreat 
becomes  necessary,  'hie  Labor,  hoc  opus  Est.' 

"  Should  they  obstinately  persist  in  a  Claim  and  a  Conduct  founded  on 
it,  which  we  think  unjust  and  hostile,  the  Resistance }  to  be  made  by 
'  Boots,  shoes,  Glass,  Ribbons,  &c,'  promise  no  very  successful  achieve- 
ment. The  Enumeration  seems  to  be  dictated  by  cool  mercantile  calcu- 
lation, and  not  by  the  generous  warm  burst  of  national  Indignation. 
That  would  prompt  a  total  prohibition  to  commence  at  a  reasonable  dis- 
tance of  Time.  But — this  measure  will  not,  I  suppose,  be  adopted. 

"  I  do  not  like  temporary  provisions.  Cannot  some  Principle  be  dis- 
covered that  will  be  permanent  and  beneficial.  If  such  a  Principle  can- 
not be  discovered,  I  should  incline  to  nothing  more  at  present  but  to 
treat.  This  can  be  done  in  so  firm  a  manner  as  to  convince  our  adver- 
saries, that  our  negotiation  is  but  the  forerunner  of  more  effectual  meas- 
ures, for  which  in  the  mean  time  we  shall  be  preparing.  And  that  the 
vigor  of  our  exertion  will  be  proportioned  to  the  patience  of  our  en- 
durance. So  they  found  it  in  our  Revolution. 

"  Be  pleased  to  present  my  respects  to  Joel  Barlowe,  and  my  thanks  for 

his  Pamphlet. 

"  I  am  &c  &c. 

"  JOHN  DICKINSON. 
"  GEO  :  LOGAN  Senator  in  Congress11 

158 


HppenMi 

{From  the  same.} 

"  26th  2d  mo  1806. 

"  MY  DEAR  KINSMAN, — I  am  obliged  to  thee  for  thy  Letter  of  the  24th 
and  the  Inclosures.  The  addition  of  the  two  last  Paragraphs  appear  to 
me  to  be  improper 

"Of  the  diplomatic  character  of  the  person  mentioned,  I  never  had 
any  high  opinion.  He  seems  very  desirous  of  doing  something  in  the 
learned  way  without  knowing  what  to  do 

"  The  Bill  concerning  Coins  *  leads  directly  to  the  Remedy  of  a 
growing  evil.  Go  on,  my  dear  Friend,  and  do  all  the  good  thou  can. 

"lam&c." 

{Extract  of  a  Letter  from  the  same,  dated  7  th  of  Third  Month,  1806.) 

"I  am  exceedingly  pleased  with  the  purity  and  Prudence  of  thy  poli- 
tics ;  and  am  amazed  at  the  Errors  that  have  been  committed  by  men  of 
eminent  Talents  and  great  Integrity. 

"In  the  course  of  my  life,  I  have  frequently  had  occasion  to  remark 
that  men  of  splendid  Talents  have  been  deficient  in  Soundness  of  Judg- 
ment ;  and  as  often  in  a  knowledge  of  mankind.  These  defects  are  not 
seldom  felt  by  Nations. 

"  I  hope  thy  Son  will  emulate  his  Father." 

{Part  of  a  Letter  from  John  Dickinson,  Esq.,  to  Dr.  Logan.} 

"  3ist  of  the  3d  mo  1806. 

"  As  far  as  I  am  capable  of  Judging,  there  has  been  an  Overstraining 
in  our  affairs,  and  to  such  a  degree,  that  the  greatest  prudence  will  be  re- 
quired, for  relaxing  with  honour  &  safety. 

"  As  to  our  disputes  with  Britain  I  think,  that  the  death  of  Pitt,  and 

*  This  relates  to  a  bill  which  Dr.  Logan  introduced  into  the  Senate,  entitled  "  A  Bill 
for  the  Punishment  of  Persons  counterfeiting  the  Current  Coin  of  the  United  States,  and 
for  other  purposes,"  one  of  which  purposes  was  the  suppression  of  a  regular  mint  which 
some  rapacious  individuals  had  established  in  Baltimore  for  the  coinage  of  Portuguese 
money.  This  they  in  some  way  made  conducive  to  their  own  profit.  And  it  was  upon 
this  occasion  that  a  Senator  from  Maryland  told  Dr.  Logan  that  he  was  too  honest  a  man 
to  be  in  public  life. 

159 


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the  appointment  of  a  new  Ministry,  open  to  us  such  prospects  of  accomo- 
dation,  that  all  Resolutions  respecting  a  stoppage  of  commercial  inter- 
courses should  be  suspended  ;  and  that  it  should  be  perfectly  understood, 
that  suspension  takes  place  in  consequence  of  the  hopes  we  entertain  of  a 
truly  Friendly  disposition  of  the  present  Ministry  towards  us ;  more  es- 
pecially as  we  observe  among  them  men,  whose  generous  and  uniform 
exertions  in  favour  of  Liberty  and  the  Happiness  of  Mankind,  have  long 
endeared  them  to  the  People  of  these  States.  As  to  our  controversies 
with  Spain  they  appear  to  have  proceeded  from  our  mistakes  and  im- 
periousness.  We  have  unnecessarily  and  imprudently  irritated  and  alarmed 
her. 

"We  might  almost  as  reasonably  quarrel  with  her  for  Lands  in  the 
Moon,  as  for  the  Wildernesses  beyond  the  Mississipi. 

"  The  Spaniards  are  a  Nation  who  value  Honour  very  highly.  It  is  a 
Temper  that  ought  to  be  highly  Respected  by  others.  To  wound  them  in 
this  respect  is  cruel  and  unwise.  In  our  negotiations  with  them  a  par- 
ticular attention  should  be  paid  to  this  part  of  their  character. 

"  It  was  my  wish  in  the  commencement  of  these  negotiations.  We 
should  have  frankly  told  them,  that  for  the  establishment  of  our  western 
boundaries  upon  Principles  of  mutual  Respect  and  benefit,  we  would  con- 
tent ourselves  with  the  River  Mexicano,  laid  down  in  several  maps  as  the 
Boundary  of  Louisiana  up  to  the  3oth  degree  of  Latitude,  and  thence 
with  a  strait  line  to  the  source  of  the  Missisippi,  with  the  priviledge  of 
trading  with  the  Indian  nations  on  the  western  side  of  the  Boundaries  so 
to  be  established — or  with  some  such  limits.  In  this  manner,  if  the 
proposition  should  be  adopted,  we  should  gain  a  large  Territory  which  we 
do  not  want,  and  to  which  any  addition  would  be  superfluous. 

"As  to  our  Eastern  Boundaries,  the  best  thing  that  can  be  done,  I  pre- 
sume will  be  by  liberal  Cessions  on  the  Western  side  of  the  Missisippi, 
and  by  a  liberal  Price  to  bargain  for  all  the  Floridas.  If  they  cannot  be 
thus  obtained,  then  to  get  as  much  as  we  can  of  those  parts  that  would  be 
most  convenient  to  us. 

"If  in  their  turn  they  should  choose  to  behave  too  haughtily,  they 
ought  most  solemnly  to  be  warned  against  measures  that  may  drive  us  into 
a  connection  with  Great  Britain.  A  Policy  that  would  strike  directly  at 

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HppenMi 

the  heart  of  their  Colonies.  (A  defaced  sentence  follows,  which  seems  to 
urge  the  necessity  of  possessing  the  Floridas,  and  glances  at  the  probable 
Independence  of  Spanish  America.)" 

(From  John  Dickinson  to  Dr.  Logan.} 

"  WILMINGTON  I7th  I2th  mo  1806. 

"  MY  DEAR  COUSIN, — Accept  my  thanks  for  thy  kind  attentions.  I  am 
waiting  for  explanations  that  are  to  determine,  whether  we  have  reason  to 
rejoice  or  to  mourn  for  the  situation  of  our  affairs. 

"  The  perseverance  in  the  non-importation  act  after  advice  received  of 
the  favourable  change  in  the  British  Ministry,  appeared  to  me  on  several 
accounts  an  improper  measure.  Now  we  are  to  tack  about. 

"So  it  was  as  to  the  Saint  Domingo  Trade.  We  persisted  in  it  weakly 
and  wickedly,  till  a  little  Note  enlightened  us.  We  then  were  obliged  to 
tack  about. 

"  So  it  was  as  to  our  unjustifiable  claims  on  Spain.  She  resented  them, 
with  perhaps  unexpected  spirit :  and  accordingly  we  have  tacked  about 
again. 

'•'  In  the  Present  State  of  affairs,  I  should  approve  a  suspension  rather 
than  a  Repeal. 

"  I  am  thy  truly  affectionate  Kinsman 

"  JOHN  DICKINSON 
"  WILMINGTON 

"  the  I7th  of  the  I2th 
"month  1806." 

(Part  of  a  Letter  from  John  Dickinson  without  date ;  but  written  at  a 
time  when  the  House  of  Representatives  had  made  a  call  on  the  President 
for  Papers  and  Documents  the  disclosure  of  which  was  judged  to  be  wholly 
improper  at  that  period.} 

"The  proceedings  of  the  House  of  Representatives  gives  me  great 
pain  of  Mind.  There  is  a  wildness  in  them  prognosticating  evil  to  Re- 
publican forms  of  Government. 

"  It  appears  to  me  that  disappointed  passion  in  some,  and  an  abject 
courtship  of  popular  favour  in  others,  have  superceded  a  regard  for  public 
faith  and  national  dignity. 

161 


HppenMi 

"What  sacrifices  of  honor  and  Prudence  have  been  made  to  gratify  a 
precocious  Curiosity  !  And  what  Pity  it  is  that  a  Man  who  might  emulate 
Demosthenes,  should  be  so  infatuated  as  to  act  the  part  of  a  Zoilus. 

"  I  read  his  speeches,  to  borrow  an  expression  from  Tacitus  (  Plaudens 
ac  mcerens.' 

"Negotiations  in  progression,  but  not  yet  completed,  for  the  manage- 
ment of  which  constitutional  authorities  are  established  and  are  competent, 
must  now  be  published  to  the  world,  'tho'  the  publication  cannot  possibly 
do  any  Good,  but  on  the  contrary,  may  do  much  Harm  by  provoking 
other  powers.  I  shall  not  be  surprised  if  they  refuse  to  treat  with  us  at 
all,  and  '  manage  their  own  affairs  in  their  own  way'  Surely,  if  we  were 
to  be  influenced  by  Reason  and  Love  of  Country,  we  might  rely  on  the 
Virtues  and  Talents  of  our  President,  for  ably  and  honestly  discharging 
the  duties  of  his  office ;  and  if,  mortal  as  he  is,  he  should  in  any  point 
happen  to  be  mistaken,  certainly  the  two  legislative  Bodies  might  check 
the  Error,  before  it  could  do  mischief. 

"  But,  it  seems,  that  this  regular  and  Safe  Mode  of  going  on  will  not 
satisfy  some  political  Newlights. 

"Their  violence  will  overwhelm  us  with  confusion  if  it  is  not  re- 
strained. 

"  To  the  Senate  I  look  for  Relief. 

"In  the  Convention  at  Philadelphia  in  1787,  I  proposed  that  Branch, 
with  an  equal  Representation  therein  of  every  State — assenting,  in  con- 
sideration of  such  a  provision,  to  the  Establishment  of  the  other  Branch, 
on  another  Principle. 

"Be  firm — Ye  Depositaries  of  delegated  Sovereignties — 

'  Fortiaque  adversis  opponite  pectora  rebus.' 

"If  a  Frenzy  agitates  a  portion  of  your  Country,  remain  steady — Time 
will  assuredly  come  to  your  aid — Truth  will  vindicate  you — and  enlight- 
ened Gratitude  succeed  to  blind  Resentment." 

(From  John  Dickinson,  Esq.,  to  Dr.  Logan.*) 

"  MY  DEAR  COUSIN, — I  thank  thee  for  the  Letter  and  Inclosures ;  and  I 
hope  the  President's  Conduct  will  meet  with  universal  approbation.  To 
Me  it  appears  to  have  been  exactly  what  it  ought  to  have  been. 

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"Upon  this  alarm,  how  all-important  ts  a  general  Militia  thoroughly 
prepared  for  Action — proved  to  be. 

"  Unless  such  a  Militia  shall  be  soon  established,  our  Liberties  will  be 
unstable  as  the  clouds.  This  must  be,  and  this  alone  under  Providence 
can  be,  a  solid  foundation  for  them. 

"  However,  I  observe  this  salutary  Truth  so  little  attended  to  by  my 
fellow  Citizens,  that  my  expectation  of  happiness  for  these  States  is  some- 
times almost  extinguished.  Let  me  entreat  thee,  to  excite  our  sleeping 
Countrymen  to  an  indispensably  necessary  Vigilence. 

"  I  am  thy  sincerely  affectionate  Kinsman, 

"JOHN  DICKINSON." 

(From  John  Dickinson,  Esq.,  to  Dr.  Logan.*) 

"My  DEAR  COUSIN, — Has  thou  ever  seen  a  more  appropriate  public 
Paper,  than  the  Presidents  last  Proclaimation  ?  For  sentiment,  Temper 
and  Language,  to  Me  it  appears  truly  admirable.  The  Inhabitants  of  our 
Town  feel  as  they  ought  to  do  on  the  horrible  outrage  committed  against 
humanity  and  our  Country. 

"  Tho'  I  partake  of  the  sensations,  I  judged  it  to  be  suitable  to  my 
Age  and  Infirmities,  to  take  no  share  in  the  public  Expressions  of  Prin- 
ciple and  Resentment ;  but,  my  presence  at  a  Town  meeting  was  requested 
so  earnestly  and  respectfully  that  I  could  not  without  pain,  resist  the  Invi- 
tation. 

"I  had  no  share  in  drafting  the  Resolutions.  They  ought  to  have  re- 
sponded more  than  they  do,  with  the  Presidents  firm,  calm  and  dignified 
Manner. 

"  I  am  thy  affectionate  Kinsman, 

"JOHN  DICKINSON. 

"WILMINGTON 

"  the  7th  of  the  7th  month  1807." 


Bppenfcii 


ACTS  OF  THE  FIFTH  CONGRESS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


STATUTE  COMMONLY   CALLED   THE   "LOGAN  ACT." 
AN  ACT  FOR  THE   PUNISHMENT  OF  CERTAIN  CRIMES  THEREIN  SPECIFIED. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  if  any  person,  being  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States,  whether  he  be  actually  resident,  or  abiding 
within  the  United  States,  or  in  any  foreign  country,  shall,  without  the 
permission  or  authority  of  the  government  of  the  United  States,  directly 
or  indirectly,  commence,  or  carry  on,  any  verbal  or  written  correspond- 
ence or  intercourse  with  any  foreign  government,  or  any  officer  or  agent 
thereof,  with  an  intent  to  influence  the  measures  or  conduct  of  any  foreign 
government,  or  of  any  officer  or  agent  thereof,  in  relation  to  any  disputes 
or  controversies  with  the  United  States,  or  defeat  the  measures  of  the 
government  of  the  United  States  ;  or  if  any  person,  being  a  citizen  of,  or 
resident  within  the. United  States,  and  not  duly  authorized,  shall  counsel, 
advise,  aid  or  assist  in  any  such  correspondence,  with  intent,  as  aforesaid, 
he  or  they  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  high  misdemeanor,  and  on  con- 
viction before  any  court  of  the  United  States  having  jurisdiction  thereof, 
shall  be  punished  by  a  fine  not  exceeding  five  thousand  dollars,  and  by 
imprisonment  during  a  term  not  less  than  six  months,  nor  exceeding  three 
years :  Provided  always,  that  nothing  in  this  act  contained  shall  be  con- 
strued to  abridge  the  right  of  individual  citizens  of  the  United  States  to 
apply,  by  themselves,  or  their  lawful  agents,  to  any  foreign  government, 
or  the  agents  thereof,  for  the  redress  of  any  injuries  in  relation  to  person 
or  property  which  such  individuals  may  have  sustained  from  such  govern- 
ment, or  any  of  its  agents,  citizens  or  subjects. 

Approved,  January  30,  1799. 


164 


APPENDIX    V 
Correspondence  between  E>r.  OLogan  ano  flilr.  fifeaoison 

[The  following  letters  passed  between  Dr.  Logan  and  the  President 
previous  to  Dr.  Logan's  embarkation  for  England.] 

"  STENTON  Jany  roth  1810. 

"  MY  DEAR  FRIEND, — As  a  Citizen  of  the  United  States,  I  have  for 
several  years  viewed  with  considerable  anxiety  the  future  destinies  of  my 
country. 

"  Every  reflecting  and  candid  mind  must  be  sensible  of  the  weakness 
of  a  Government  deriving  its  power  from  popular  opinion  rather  than 
from  Physical  force.  Such  being  the  situation  of  the  United  States,  would 
it  not  be  sound  Policy  in  our  Government,  not  merely  to  act  with  strict 
Justice,  but  with  liberality  and  even  forbearance  towards  other  nations. 

"  During  the  federal  administration  under  Mr.  Adams,  a  desperate  fac- 
tion were  anxious  to  involve  our  Country  in  a  war  with  France.  The 
people  viewing  the  calamities  of  war  with  horror,  intrusted  the  fate  of 
their  country  in  the  hands  of  men,  who  professed  maxims  of  Peace,  as  the 
best  Policy  to  promote  the  happiness  and  Prosperity  of  the  United  States. 
This  desirable  situation  of  our  country  is  like  to  be  jeopardised  by  our 
Republican  administration  giving  up  their  sound  Judgment  founded  on 
deliberate  reflection,  to  the  temporary  feelings  of  popular  Resentments 
roused  into  energy  by  the  clamours  of  Unprincipled  Demagogues.  The 
superficial  legal  education  of  too  many  of  our  young  men  in  Congress ; 
and  their  habits  of  quibble  and  sophistry  in  our  inferior  courts,  so  debase 
their  faculties  as  to  extinguish  that  generosity  of  sentiment  and  candour 
necessary  in  the  character  of  a  national  Legislator. 

"  Our  demands  on  Spain  respecting  French  spoilations  out  of  Spanish 
Ports,  and  on  account  of  our  claim  to  West  Florida,  have  been  long  since 
declared  by  the  Emperor  of  France  as  totally  without  foundation — and  we 

165 


HppenMi 

have  reason  to  believe  they  never  will  be  granted,  whether  we  have  to 
negotiate  for  them  with  the  Spanish  or  with  the  French  Governments. 

"  Our  Prospects  with  Great  Britain,  owing  to  the  enflamed  state  of  the 
public  mind  is  more  serious — and  yet  I  do  not  despair — if  either,  or  both 
nations  would  substitute  a  just  and  magnanimous  Policy,  to  suspicion, 
Jealousy,  and  cupidity. 

"  In  the  present  aweful  crisis  of  Europe,  with  the  acts,  and  the  ambi- 
tious views  of  Buonaparte  before  us,  no  man  in  his  senses  can  doubt  of  the 
necessity  of  the  United  States  preserving  Peace  with  Britain. 

"  I  was  not  satisfied  with  the  rejection  of  Monroe's  Treaty  on  account 
of  its  not  having  an  article  stipulating  generally  for  the  protection  under 
the  American  Mercantile  Flag,  of  French  Property,  and  British  Deserters. 
The  two  federal  administrations  gave  up  these  points  as  inconsistent 
with  the  Law  of  Nations.  The  first,  universally  acknowledged  by  the 
best  writers  on  the  law  of  nations — The  latter,  altho'  not  particularly  ex- 
pressed, yet  consistent  with  the  spirit  and  intent  of  that  law,  as  founded 
on  the  immutable  principle  of  doing  unto  others  as  you  would  expect 
others  to  do  to  you;  is  equally  binding.  Those  great  national  laws, 
which  regard  the  great  Republic  of  mankind  cannot  justify  such  acts  as 
may  promote  wickedness  and  lessen  the  general  confidence  and  security 
in  which  all  have  an  equal  interest,  and  which  all  are  therefore  bound  to 
maintain.  For  this  reason,  no  nation  has  a  Right  to  erect  a  Sanctuary 
for  fugitives  j  or  give  protection  to  such  as  have  forfeited  their  lives  by 
crimes  against  the  Law  of  common  morallity  or  Justice  equally  acknowl- 
edged by  all  nations  : — because  none  can  without  infraction  of  the  univer- 
sal league  of  social  beings,  incite  by  prospects  of  impunity  and  safety,  those 
practices  in  another  dominion,  which  they  themselves  punish  in  their  own. 
According  to  this  fundamental  law  of  nations : — What  Right  has  the  United 
States  to  protect  a  Deserter  from  the  service  of  a  foreign  nation,  whilst  in 
the  practice  of  punishing  its  own  citizens  guilty  of  a  similar  offence. 

"  My  heart  mourns  on  account  of  the  political  insanity  of  my  country  ! 
Make  use  of  your  power  and  your  influence  as  chief  magistrate  of  the 
United  States  to  arrest  the  progress  of  the  destruction  of  your  country. 
A  war  with  Britain,  at  once  unites  us  as  an  ally  to  Buonaparte,  and  will 
dissolve  the  Union — arouse  my  Friend — suffer  your  superior  understanding 

166 


Hppenbii 

and  Patriotism  to  prevail — banish  from  our  Councils  that  irratibility  of 
temper  and  false  honour  which  has  tended  to  widen  the  breach. 

"  When  I  had  the  pleasure  of  conversing  with  you  lately  at  Washing- 
ton, you  mentioned  to  me  that  you  had  recently  given  assurances  to  the 
British  Government  of  the  desire  of  the  United  States  to  preserve  Peace 
between  the  two  countries,  and  that  you  were  willing  to  renew  negotia- 
tions for  that  purpose  at  Washington  or  in  London.  Confirm  this  decla- 
ration by  immediately  sending  two  or  three  Commissioners  of  the  most 
respectable  character  to  London,  for  the  express  purpose  of  concluding  a 
Treaty  of  Friendship  and  Commerce,  equally  necessary  and  beneficial  to 
both  countries — You  have  a  precedent  in  the  Mission  of  Mr  Jay  by  Gen- 
eral Washington  and  a  still  stronger  one  in  the  last  mission  to  France  by 
Mr  Adams,  an  act  of  magnanimity  which  obliterates  many  of  his  political 
blunders. 

"  No  man,  whatever  may  be  his  professions,  is  more  desirous  of  your 
honour  and  happiness. 

' '  With  sentiments  of  Respect, 

"  I  am  your  Real  Friend 

"GEO:  LOGAN. 
"JAMES  MADISON 

"President  U:  States." 

(f.  Madison  to  Dr.  Logan.*) 

"  WASHINGTON  January  lyth  1810 

"  DEAR  SIR, — I  have  received  your  favour  of  the  loth.  Your  anxiety 
that  our  country  may  he  kept  out  of  the  vortex  of  war,  is  honourable  to 
your  judgment  as  a  patriot,  and  to  your  feeling  as  a  man.  The  same 
anxiety  is,  I  sincerely  believe,  felt  by  the  great  body  of  the  nation,  &  by 
its  public  councils ;  most  assuredly  by  the  Executive  branch  of  them. 
But  the  question  may  be  decided  for  us,  by  actual  hostilities  against  us,  or 
by  proceedings,  leaving  no  choice  but  between  absolute  disgrace  &  re- 
sistance by  force.  May  not  also  manifestations  of  patience  under  injuries 
&  indignities,  be  carried  so  far,  as  to  invite  this  very  dilemma  ? 

"  I  devoutly  wish  that  the  same  disposition  to  cultivate  peace  by  means 
of  justice  which  exists  here,  predominated  elsewhere,  particularly  in 
G.  B.  But  how  can  this  be  supposed,  whilst  she  persists  in  proceedings, 

167 


Bppentni 

which  involve  the  essence  of  hostility ;  whilst  she  violates  towards  us 
rules,  which  she  enforces  against  us  in  her  own  favour ;  more  particularly 
whilst  we  see  her  converting  the  late  reconciliation  through  one  of  her 
Ministers,  into  a  source  of  fresh  difficulties  &  animosities,  thro'  another  : 
For  in  this  light  must  be  viewed,  her  disavowal  of  Mr  Erskine,  &  the  im- 
pressions made  thro'  his  successor.  Had  the  disavowal  been  deemed 
essential  to  her  interests,  a  worse  plaister  could  not  have  been  devised  for 
the  wound  necessarily  inflicted  here.  But  was  the  disavowal  essential  to 
her  interests?  Was  it  material  to  them;  taking  for  the  test,  her  own 
spontaneous  change  of  system,  &  her  own  official  language?  By  the 
former  refer  to  her  orders  of  April,  restricting  their  original  orders  against 
neutrals,  to  a  trade  with  France  &  Holland  :  by  the  latter,  to  the  conver- 
sation of  Mr  Canning  with  Mr  P.  [Pinkney]  in  which  he  abandons,  as  he 
could  not  but  do,  two  of  the  conditions  which  had  been  contemplated ;  & 
admits  that  a  non-intercourse  law  here  against  Holland  was  not  a  sine  qua 
non;  so  that  the  arrangement  of  Mr  E.  [Erskine]  was  disavowed  essen- 
tially for  want  of  a  pledge  that  our  non-intercourse  would  be  continued 
against  France  &  her  dominions.  But  why  disavow  absolutely,  why  at  all, 
on  this  account  ?  The  law  was  known  to  be  in  force  against  France  at  the 
time  of  the  arrangement.  It  was  morally  certain  that  if  put  in  force  against 
France  whilst  she  was  pleading  the  British  orders,  it  would  not  be  withdrawn, 
if  she  should  persist  in  her  devices,  after  being  deprived  of  this  plea. 

"  And  there  could  be  no  fair  ground  to  suppose,  that  the  condition 
would  not  be  pledged  &  stipulated,  if  required,  as  soon  as  the  requisite 
authorities  here  should  be  together.  The  disavowal  is  the  more  extraor- 
dinary, as  the  arrangement  was  to  be  respected  till  the  2oth  of  July,  & 
therefore  with  the  addition  of  four  or  five  weeks  only,  would  have  afforded 
an  opportunity  of  knowing  the  sense  of  this  Govt  &  of  supplying  all  that 
was  wanted  to  Satisfy  the  British  Ultimatum.  This  course  was  so  obvious, 
&  that  pursued  so  opposite,  that  we  are  compelled  to  look  to  other  motives 
for  an  explanation,  &  to  include  among  these  a  disinclination  to  put  an 
end  to  differences  from  which  such  advantages  are  extracted  by  British 
commerce  &  British  cruisers. 

"  Notwithstanding  all  these  grounds  of  discontent  &  discouragement, 
we  are  ready  as  the  B.  Govt  knows,  to  join  in  any  new  experiment,  (& 

1 68 


HppenMi 

thro'  either  our  diplomatic  channel  there,  or  hers  here)  for  a  cordial  & 
comprehensive  adjustment  of  matters  between  the  two  countries. 

"  Let  reparation  be  made  for  the  acknowledged  wrong  commited  in  the 
case  of  the  Chesapeak,  a  reparation  so  cheap  to  the  wrongdoer,  yet  so 
material  to  the  honour  of  the  injured  party  ;  &  let  the  orders  in  counsil, 
already  repealed  as  to  the  avowed  object  of  retaliation,  be  repealed  also 
as  an  expedient  for  substituting  an  illicit  commerce  in  place  of  that  to 
which  neutrals  have,  as  such,  an  incontestable  right.  The  way  will  then 
be  opened  for  negotiation  at  large ;  &  if  the  B.  Govt.  would  bring  into  it 
the  same  temper  as  she  would  find  in  us ;  &  the  same  disposition  to  insist 
on  nothing  inconsistent  with  the  rule  of  doing  as  she  would,  or  rather  as 
she  will  be  done  by,  the  result  could  not  fail  to  be  happy  for  both. 

"  Permit  me  to  remark,  that  you  are  under  a  mistake  in  supposing  that 
the  Treaty  concluded  by  Messrs  M  &  P.  was  rejected  because  it  did  not 
provide  that  free  ships  should  make  free  goods.  It  never  was  required  nor 
expected  that  such  a  stipulation  should  be  inserted  As  to  deserting 
seamen,  you  will  find  that  G.  B.  practices  against  us  the  principles  we 
assert  against  her,  &  in  fact  goes  further ;  that  we  have  always  been  ready 
to  enter  into  a  convention  on  that  subject,  founded  on  reciprocity ;  & 
that  the  documents  long  since  in  print  show,  that  we  are  willing,  on  the 
subject  of  impressment,  to  put  an  end  to  it,  by  an  arrangement  which 
most  certainly  would  be  better  for  the  British  navy  than  that  offensive  re- 
source, &  which  might  be  so  managed  as  to  leave  both  parties  at  liberty 
to  retain  their  own  ideas  of  right.  Let  me  add  that  the  acceptance  of 
that  Treaty  would  have  very  little  changed  the  actual  situation  of  things 
with  G.  B.  The  orders  in  council  would  not  have  been  prevented  but 
rather  placed  on  stronger  ground ;  the  case  of  the  Chesapeak,  the  same  as 
it  is ;  so  also  the  case  of  impressments,  of  fictitious  blockades  &  all  as  at 
present,  pregnant  sources  of  contention  &  ill-humour. 

"From  this  view  of  the  subject,  I  cannot  but  persuade  myself,  that 
you  will  concur  in  opinion,  that  if  unfortunately,  the  calamity  you  so 
benevolently  dread,  should  visit  this  hitherto  favoured  country,  the  fault 
will  not  lie  where  you  would  wish  it  not  to  lie. 

"  Accept  assurances  of  my  esteem  &  friendship 

"JAMES  MADISON." 

12  169 


HppenMjt 

"Jan  19.  P.  s.  Since  I  reed,  your  letter  of  the  10  &  whilst  the 
above  was  undergoing  a  copy,  Yours  of  the  i4th  has  come  to  hand,  in- 
forming me  of  your  intention  to  embark  in  about  8  days  for  England  ;  an 
intention  I  presume  suddenly  formed  as  it  is  not  alluded  to  in  your  first 
letter.  The  Secretary  of  State  will  avail  himself  of  your  polite  offer  to 
take  charge  of  communications  to  our  Minister  in  London ;  tho'  I  fear 
that  your  departure  may  take  place  before  he  can  be  in  readiness.  I  shall 
myself  ask  the  favor  of  your  attention  to  a  private  letter  to  him,  which  I 
shall  forward  by  tomorrow's  mail." 

{Dr.  Logan  to  James  Madison. ) 

"  STENTON  January  24th  1810, 

"  MY  DEAR  FRIEND, — By  the  mail  of  yesterday  I  received  your  obliging 
letter  of  the  lyth.  Your  sentiments  in  favour  of  preserving  our  country  in 
peace  at  this  momentous  crisis,  do  honor  to  you  as  a  statesman,  &  have 
afforded  me  the  most  lively  satisfaction. 

"  The  political  &  commercial  interests  of  Great  Britain  &  the  United 
States,  demands,  that  laying  aside  mutual  jealousy  &  distrust,  we  should 
renew  our  negotiation  with  frankness  candor  &  forbearance.  No  man  is 
more  sensible  of  the  injurious  acts  of  Britain  towards  our  country  than  I 
am.  but  we  have  reason  to  believe  from  fatal  experience,  that  irritating 
acts  regulating  &  restricting  commerce  will  not  lead  to  that  solid  state  of 
peace  necessary  to  the  happiness  &  prosperity  of  both  countries.  r 

"  I  am  disgusted  with  the  miserable  policy  &  horrid  barbarous  warfare 
of  the  present  day.  By  decrees,  orders  in  council,  &  commercial  restric- 
tions ;  dastardly  attacking  the  humble  cottage,  the  comforts,  the  subsist- 
ance  of  unoffending  women  &  children,  instead  of  meeting  in  an  open  & 
honorable  conflict  the  armed  battalions  of  your  enemy  in  the  field — I  wish 
my  country  disdaining  to  follow  this  wretched  system  of  France  &  Britain, 
would  remove  every  obstacle  to  peace,  and  appeal  to  the  magnanimity, 
sound  policy  &  permanent  interest  of  Great-Britain.  That  country  must 
be  sensible  of  the  importance  of  our  commerce  to  her,  &  must  see  the  ne- 
cessity of  sacrificing  minor  temporary  considerations,  to  extensive  &  per- 
manent future  objects  in  which  both  countries  are  so  deeply  interested. 

"  Permit  me  in  deference  to  your  better  information,  to  recommend 

170 


HppenMi 

Mr.  Onis  [M :  D'Onis]  to  your  more  particular  notice.  The  glorious 
cause  of  his  country  which  he  is  sent  to  represent,  merits  the  good  wishes 
&  prayers  of  every  virtuous  man. 

"Your  despatches  for  our  minister  in  London  entrusted  to  my  care,  I 
will  take  charge  of  with  pleasure — I  expect  to  take  my  passage  in  the  Brit- 
ish packet,  which  will  sail  from  New  York*  in  about  two  weeks. 
"  I  am  with  sentiments  of  great  respect 

"  your  ffriend 

"  GEO.  LOGAN 
"  J.\s.  MADISON  ESQ., 

' '  President  of  the  United  States. ' ' 

{Letter  from  Dr.  Logan  to  Madison?) 

"  STENTON  July  4th  1813. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — In  that  spirit  of  Truth  which  you  so  highly  and  justly 
appreciate,  I  have  communicated  to  you  my  Letters  to  the  American  and 
British  Administration,  on  the  all-important  subject  of  restoring  Peace  and 
Friendship  between  the  two  Governments,  particularly  necessary  at  this 
tremenduous  crisis,  when  a  military  Despot  is  contemplating  the  subju- 
gation of  the  whole  civilised  world.  Whilst  a  member  of  the  Senate  at 
Washington  I  had  frequent  opportunities  of  conversing  with  Mr  Jefferson 
then  President  of  the  United  States.  I  suggested  to  him  the  necessity  of 
having  a  Treaty  of  commerce  and  Friendship  with  Great  Britain.  I  do 
not  remember  the  precise  words  made  use  of,  but  an  impression  was  made 
on  my  mind  that  Mr  Jefferson  did  not  at  that  time  wish  a  Treaty  of  Peace 
and  Friendship  with  England.  I  perfectly  recollect  that  he  terminated  a 
conversation  on  this  subject'  by  observing  that  before  a  Treaty  could  be 
ratified  with  Great  Britain,  she  might  no  longer  exist  as  an  independent 
nation.  I  am  of  opinion  that  Mr  Jefferson  declined  making  a  Treaty 
with  England,  not  from  his  hatred  to  that  country,  but  from  his  fear  of 
the  overwhelming  power  of  Buonaparte. 

"In  some  degree,  the  present  calamity  of  our  country  may  be  at- 
tributed to  the  contracted  Policy,  and  Secrecy  of  the  Executive  respecting 
our  foreign  relations.  I  hope  the  Present  Congress  will  develope  every 
Act  of  the  President  and  of  his  ministers,  necessary  for  the  information  of 
the  People. 

171 


HppenMr 

"  As  to  '  the  Orders  in  Council'  the  ostensible  cause  of  declaring  War 
against  Britain,  the  most  objectionable  part  of  them  was  removed  in  1809. 
The  remaining  part  was  contemplated  to  have  been  repealed  before  the 
meeting  of  Parliament  in  1810.  This  Information  I  received  whilst  in 
London  from  Gentlemen  connected  with  the  Government.  And  it  is  con- 
firmed by  the  last  Letter  of  Mr  Foster  to  Mr  Monroe,  dated  '  Washington 
June  i4th  1812,'  in  which  he  observes: — '  It  was  France,  and  afterwards 
America  that  connected  the  Question  relative  to  the  right  of  Blockade 
with  that  arising  out  of  the  Orders  in  Council.  You  well  know  that  if 
these  two  Questions  had  not  been  united  together,  the  Orders  in  Council 
would  have  been  in  1810,  Revoked.'  Unfortunately  for  the  Peace  of  our 
Country,  not  content  with  the  Revocation  of  the  Orders  in  Council  as 
dictated  by  the  Law  of  Congress  of  May  1810.  Mr  Pinkney  in  his  Letter 
to  Lord  Wellesley  of  Sep  3ist  1810  demands  a  Repeal  not  only  of  the 
Blockade  from  Elbe  to  Brest,  but  of  those  of  Zealand,  and  of  the  Isles  of 
Mauritius  and  Bourbon.  And  in  his  letter  of  Jany  i4th  1811,  to  the 
same  Minister,  he  speaks  also  of  other  Blockades  (including  that  of  the 
Island  of  Zealand)  which  the  United  States  expected  to  see  Recalled,  be- 
sides the  Blockade  of  May. '  In  this  letter  he  suggests  an  idea  directly 
calculated,  and  perhaps  designed,  to  allarm  the  British  Minestry  as  to  the 
ulterior  views  of  our  Government  on  the  subject  of  Blockade  in  general, 
and  to  discourage  them  from  a  compliance  with  our  demand  concerning 
the  Blockade  of  May.  He  observes — '  It  is  by  no  means  clear  that  it  may 
not  be  fairly  contended  that  a  Maratime  Blockade  is  incomplete  with  re- 
gard to  States  at  Peace,  unless  the  Place  which  it  would  affect  is  invested 
by  land  as  well  as  by  sea.  The  United  States  however  have  called  for  the 
recognition  of  no  such  Rule.  They  appear  to  have  contented  themselves 
with  urging  in  substance  '  That  Ports  not  actually  Blockaded  by  a  Present 
adequate  Stationary  force  &c  &c.' 

"  Apprehensive  that  some  shuffling  conduct  of  this  kind  would  be  the 
result  of  an  official  communication  with  Mr  Pinkney,  I  urged  in  my 
Letter  to  Sir  John  Sinclair,  and  to  other  Gentlemen  in  London  with  whom 
I  conversed,  that  the  King  should  volantarily  and  immediately,  remove, 
or  suspend  the  ( Orders  in  Council :'  Not  only  as  an  Act  of  Justice  to  the 
United  States,  but  as  a  measure  of  sound  Policy  with  regard  to  the  British 

172 


appendix 

Nation,  as  tending  to  silence  the  jealous,  and  strengthen  the  well  disposed 
real  American  Citizens  in  the  United  States. 

"Accept  assurances  of 

' '  my  Friendship, 

"  GEO  :  LOGAN. 

(Letter  of  Dr.  Logan  to  his  Wife  concerning  his  Life  in  London.*) 

"  LONDON  May  zgth  1810. 

"  I  wrote  to  my  best  friend  a  few  days  since  by  a  Ship  going  to  New 
York  ;  but  knowing  your  affectionate  and  anxious  mind,  I  wish  to  em- 
brace every  opportunity  of  communicating  with  you  by  Letter,  particularly 
as  your  dear  friend  Bonaparte  may  capture  some  of  the  vessels  going  to 
the  United  States.  As  you  may  be  desirous  of  knowing  in  what  manner 
I  pass  my  time  in  London,  take  the  following  sketch  of  the  present  week. 
On  first  day  last  (it  being  the  time  of  the  yearly  meeting  of  Friends)  in 
the  morning  I  breakfasted  with  the  sons  of  Cousin  Arch,  and  they  ac- 
companied me  to  Grace  Church  Street  meeting.  I  dined  with  Cousin 
Dilwyn,  and  in  the  afternoon  accompanied  his  family  to  Bishopgate  meet- 
ing. In  the  evening  I  was  at  a  conversazione  of  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  where 
I  met  a  large  company  of  literary  characters.  Yesterday  I  breakfasted 
with  Mr  Darby,  and  afterwards  had  an  interesting  and  satisfactory  con- 
versation with  Lord  Sidmouth.  In  the  afternoon  I  attended  Parliament 
and  had  an  interview  with  several  members  of  that  body,  all  of  whom 
express  the  strongest  desire  to  preserve  peace  with  the  United  States. 
This  morning  I  breakfasted  with  the  very  amiable  family  of  Wilberforce, 
and  am  just  returned  to  my  lodgings  from  attending  an  interesting  lecture 
on  Manures,  delivered  at  the  national  board  of  agriculture  by  Arthur 
Young.  Tomorrow  I  attend  the  yearly  meeting  with  Cousin  Dillwyn. 
and  dine  at  his  house  with  the  benevolent  Clarkson.  On  fifth  day  I  am 
engaged  to  dine  with  an  eminent  Merchant  in  the  City  to  meet  our  charge 
d'affaires,  just  returned  from  Spain. 

"On  sixth  day  I  am  to  dine  with  Mr  Thornton  to  meet  at  his  house 
several  members  of  Parliament ;  and  after  dinner  to  attend  the  House  on 
the  important  question  of  the  Catholics  in  Ireland.  On  seventh  day  I 
breakfast  with  Sir  Robert  Barclay,  and  dine  with  Mr  Martinent  my  fellow 

J73 


appendix 

passenger  to  England,  and  who  expects  to  return  to  America  in  about  two 
weeks.  I  shall  give  him  a  Letter  to  you ;  he  is  engaged  in  the  mercantile 
line.  In  this  manner  my  time  has  been  occupied  since  my  being  in 
London. 

"  The  family  of  my  valuable  friend  Barclay  is  in  great  distress  having 
just  lost  his  second  daughter,  who  was  married  to  a  person  of  the  name  of 
Reynolds,  she  has  left  seven  small  children.  My  most  affectionate  love  to 
Stenton  fire  side  including  S.  D.  Pray  also  remember  me  to  cousins  Pem- 
berton  and  Griffitts. 

"  yours. 

"G.  L." 


174 


APPENDIX    VI 

Xetters  IReferrina  to  H>r,  Slogan's  Efforts  to  Hx>oto  War 

witb  Englano 

{Thomas   William   Coke  to  Dr.  Logan.*) 

"  HOLKHAM  Aug  loth,  1810. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — I  assure  you  I  felt  highly  gratified  by  your  honouring  my 
meeting  by  your  presence  &  approbation,  &  should  sooner  have  acknowl- 
edged your  very  obliging  letter,  had  not  my  time  been  fully  taken  up  by 
a  variety  of  pressing  business.  has  promised  to  forward  the  drill- 
ing machine,  &  I  beg  you  to  believe  it  will  afford  me  real  satisfaction 
to  promote  your  wishes  on  every  occasion  in  my  power. 

"  Should  you  prolong  your  stay  in  this  country,  I  need  not  say  how 
gratified  I  should  be  to  see  you  here  again,  with  any  friends  you  might 
think  proper  to  bring. 

"  I  remain,  with  great  regard — your  obliged 

"servt 

"T.  WM.  COKE. 
"  When  you  see & pray  remember  me  to  them." 

{Dr.  Logan  to  the  Right  Hon.  Spencer  Perceval,  M.P.} 

"29  LEICESTER  SQUARE  Aug  3,  1810. 

"  SIR, — As  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  I  am  anxious  for  the  prosperity 
&  happiness  of  my  country — And  permit  me  to  observe  that  having  at  an 
early  period  of  life,  resided  for  several  years  in  England  &  in  Scotland, 
on  account  of  my  education,  I  feel  a  deep  interest  in  the  welfare  of  Great 
Britain — These  sentiments  must  be  my  apology,  for  intruding  on  your 
time  so  arduously  engaged  in  the  service  of  your  country — The  bicker- 
ings &  semi  state  of  warfare,  which  have  existed  for  several  years  be- 
tween our  nations,  have  been  viewed  with  deep  affliction  by  the  best 
men  in  both  countries — Since  my  arrival  in  England,  I  have  had  an 
opportunity  of  conversing  with  many  of  your  most  eminent  characters,  as 
well  as  with  respectable  men  of  every  situation  in  life.  I  have  not  met 
with  one  person,  who  does  not  wish  a  reconciliation  with  the  United 
States — My  public  &  private  situation  in  my  own  country,  afforded  me 


Hppenfcti 

an  opportunity  of  becoming  fully  acquainted  with  the  sentiments  of  my 
fellow  citizens.  I  know  they  anxiously  desire  to  preserve  peace  with 
Great  Britain.  &  as  a  manifestation  of  their  sincerity,  they  have  renewed 
their  commerce  with  this  country,  &  have  removed  every  obstacle  to  an 
amicable  negotiation.  Let  Great  Britain  with  the  same  laudable  intent, 
remove  her  orders  in  council — Let  her  declare  herself  the  advocate  of 
neutral  rights,  Such  as  she  claimed  for  herself,  &  conceded  to  others,  be- 
fore she  adopted  the  execrable  commercial  warfare  of  the  tyrant  of  Europe 
— a  system  of  warfare  which  will  be  depicted  by  the  faithful  pen  of  the 
historian,  in  the  blackest  colours — a  warfare  by  decrees  &  orders  in  coun- 
cil, dastardly  attacking  the  humble  cottage,  the  comforts,  the  subsistence 
of  unoffending  women  &  children ;  instead  of  meeting  in  an  open  &  hon- 
ourable conflict  the  armed  battalions  of  your  enemy  in  the  field — Let  her 
return  to  that  safe  &  honourable  course  of  publick  law,  which  she  has 
abandoned,  &  treat  with  the  United  States  on  terms  of  reciprocity; 
equally  honourable  &  beneficial  to  both  countries — A  treaty  of  peace  be- 
tween the  two  nations  founded  on  such  principles,  will  conciliate  the 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  &  they  will  consider  Britain  as  their  real 
friend — My  dear  Sir,  for  heaven's  sake,  pause,  &  from  the  elevated  & 
honourable  situation,  in  which  your  Sovereign  has  placed  you,  contemplate 
agonising  nations  at  the  feet  of  a  military  despot ;  &  say  if  it  is  not 
necessary  that  Great  Britain  &  the  United  States  at  this  momentous 
crisis  of  the  world,  Should  lay  aside  unfounded  jealousies  and  mutual 
bickerings,  not  only  to  protect  their  own  existence,  as  independent  na- 
tions ;  but  to  preserve  the  civil  &  political  liberties  of  mankind — I  may 
appeal  to  your  own  superior  information  &  understanding.  If  you  are 
acquainted  with  any  truth  more  thoroughly  established  than  that  there 
exists  in  the  affairs  of  nations  an  indissoluble  union  between  the  generous 
maxims  of  an  honest  &  magnanimous  policy,  &  the  solid  rewards  of  pub- 
lick  prosperity  &  happiness. 

"Thinking  the  enclosed  document  from  the  Secretary  of  the  treasury 
of  the  United  States,  on  the  subject  of  American  manufactures,  would  be 
interesting  to  you,  I  beg  your  acceptance  of  it — 

"If  as  a  private  citizen  of  the  United  States  it  is  in  my  power  to  give 
you  any  information  which  you  may  think  useful,  I  will  do  myself  the 

176 


HppenMi 

pleasure  of  waiting  on  you  any  hour  you  may  appoint,  either  this  day  or 
tomorrow — I  expect  to  leave  London  on  Sunday  on  my  return  to  Phila- 

P  ia<  «  accept  assurances 

"  of  my  esteem  &  friendship 

"GEO.  LOGAN." 

(Dr.  Logan  to  Thomas   William  Coke,  M.P.~) 

"LIVERPOOL  Sept.  loth  1810. 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR, — Your  late  friendly  letter  was  forwarded  by  Mr  Bar- 
clay to  meet  me  in  this  city ;  from  whence  I  shall  embark  tomorrow  for 
the  United  States — My  visit  to  England  has  been  satisfactory,  not  only  on 
account  of  the  hospitality  I  have  received  generally,  &  particularly  by 
yourself;  but  also  on  account  of  the  pleasing  conviction  of  my  own  mind, 
that  the  most  enlightened  &  best  men  in  this  country,  as  well  as  the 
Nation  in  general,  are  anxious  to  preserve  peace  with  my  country — I  in 
truth  can  see  no  real  obstacle  to  a  sincere  reconciliation,  if  all  questions  of 
difference  between  our  countries  were  submitted  to  the  determination  of 
two  or  three  honourable  &  honest  men,  such  as  would  consider  it  necessary 
to  banish  from  their  deliberations,  every  minor  consideration ;  &  adopt  a 
liberal  policy,  having  in  view,  the  permanent  interests  of  both  countries. 

"  I  beg  you  to  receive  my  sincere  thanks  for  your  kind  invitation.  I 
should  revisit  your  hospitable  mansion  with  pleasure  at  this  time,  but  my 
duty  requires  my  return  to  my  own  country ; — where  be  assured,  I  shall  do 
every  thing  in  the  power  of  a  private  citizen  to  restore  harmony  &  the 
sincerest  friendship  between  our  countries 

"  Permit  me  to  ask  the  favour  of  a  long  political  letter  from  you,  by  the 
next  British  Packet  to  New  York. 

"  Not  having  had  an  introduction  to  Mr  Perceval  I  took  the  liberty  of 
writing  a  short  letter  to  him  before  I  left  London ;  of  which  the  enclosed 

is  a  CODV 

V}  "accept  assurances 

' '  of  my  esteem  &  gratitude 

"  GEO.  LOGAN. 
"HoN  THOMAS  WM  COKE  M.P. 

"  Holkham, 

"Norfolk." 
177 


Hppenfcti 


(ZV.  Logan  to  Sir  John  Sinclair.} 

ST  JAMES  PLACE,  May  i4th  1810 

"  DEAR  SIR, — A  respectable  citizen  of  the  United  States  who  left  New 
York  on  the  2 2nd  of  March  waited  on  me  a  few  days  since.  He  informs 
me  that  the  intelligence  brought  by  the  British  January  packet  of  a 
negotiation  having  commenced  between  the  Marquis  Wellesley  and  Mr 
Pinkney  produced  the  most  agreeable  sensations — That  Mr  Macon's  bill 
would  not  pass, — &  that  the  non  intercourse  act  would  expire  by  its  own 
limitation  at  the  end  of  the  session  of  congress  contemplated  to  be  about 
the  1 5th  of  April,  Every  restriction  being  thus  removed  from  the  com- 
merce of  the  United  States  a  few  of  our  ships,  notwithstanding  past  expe- 
rience may  venture  to  the  ports  of  France  &  Holland,  subjecting  them- 
selves to  be  captured  by  British  cruisers,  under  the  orders  in  council — 
Should  this  event  take  place  I  am  seriously  apprehensive  it  will  afford 
fresh  cause  of  irritation  &  will  essentially  injure  the  negotiation,  so  hap- 
pily commenced.  As  I  am  fully  sensible  of  the  good  wishes  of  this  gov- 
ernment &  of  the  people  of  Great  Britain  to  have  peace  &  harmony 
restored  between  our  countries ;  permit  me  to  suggest  to  you  the  sound 
policy  of  this  Government  removing  or  at  least  suspending  the  orders  of 
council  during  the  negotiation.  An  act  of  this  kind  coming  voluntarily 
&  immediately  from  the  King  will  have  the  most  salutary  effect — its 
justice  &  magnanimity  will  silence  the  jealous  &  strengthen  the  well 
disposed  real  American  citizens  in  the  United  States. 

At  this  awful  &  momentous  crisis  whilst  Bonaparte  in  every  part  of 
Continental  Europe  is  establishing  a  military  despotism,  it  becomes  abso- 
lutely necessary  that  Great  Britain  &  the  United  States  should  banish 
from  the  present  negotiation  unfounded  jealousies  &  minor  considera- 
tions, &  adopt  a  liberal  &  enlightened  policy,  having  in  view  the  perma- 
nent interests  of  both  countries. 

"  accept  assurances 

"  of  my  high 

"respect. 

"GEO  LOGAN 

"SiR  JOHN  SINCLAIR" 

178 


appenbtx 


(Dr.  Logan  to  John  Nicholls,  Esq.,  Kensington.'} 

"  LIVERPOOL,  Sept.  roth  1810 

"  DEAR  SIR, — Accept  my  sincere  thanks  for  your  late  friendly  & 
highly  interesting  letter — Would  to  God  the  present  administration  were 
possessed  of  your  enlightened  mind  respecting  the  true  policy  of  this 
country  towards  the  United  States — In  truth  I  can  see  no  real  obstacle  to 
a  sincere  reconciliation,  if  all  subjects  of  difference  between  our  countries, 
were  submitted  to  the  determination  of  two  or  three  honourable  men  such 
as  would  consider  it  necessary  to  banish  from  their  deliberations  the 
baneful  spirit  of  jealousy,  &  every  minor  consideration  &  adopt  a  liberal 
policy,  having  in  view  the  permanent  interests  of  both  countries.  I 
embark  tomorrow  on  my  return  to  the  United  States  where  be  assured  I 
shall  do  every  thing  in  the  power  of  a  private  citizen  to  restore  harmony, 
&  the  sincerest  friendship  between  our  countries. 

"I  hope  you  have  had  your  intended  interview  with  your  friend  the 
Marquis  Wellesley.  Pray  write  to  me  by  the  next  British  Packet  to  New 
York,  &  inform  me  of  the  disposition  &  views  of  the  administration 
towards  my  country — At  this  tremendous  crisis  of  Europe,  you  are  stand- 
ing on  the  brink  of  a  precipice  &  appear  insensible  to  your  danger 

"accept 

"G.  L. 

"JOHN  NICHOLLS  ESQ. 

"Kensington." 

(Dr.  Logan  to  the  Marquis  Wellesley.} 

"  37  ST  JAMES'S  PLACE.  April  2ist  1810. 

"MY  LORD, — I  arrived  in  the  last  British  Packet  from  New  York;  & 
had  the  pleasure  of  bringing  with  me  dispatches  from  the  President  of  the 
United  States  to  our  minister  in  London  of  the  most  conciliatory  nature, 
calculated  to  settle  the  unhappy  difference,  which  has  too  long  existed 
between  Great  Britain  &  the  United  States — equally  injurious  to  both — 

"Since  my  being  in  London  I  find  an  opinion  prevails  with  some 
gentlemen  of  high  standing  in  the  councils  of  this  country  that  the  Presi- 
dent and  people  of  the  United  States,  have  a  strong  attachment  to 
France.  Having  been  a  member  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  for 

179 


HppenMi 

six  years,  &  for  more  than  fifteen  years  been  honoured  with  the  friend- 
ship of  Mr  Madison,  I  know  this  charge  to  be  without  foundation.  As 
I  consider  it  of  some  importance  to  have  your  mind  perfectly  satisfied  on 
this  point,  with  the  permission  of  your  Exellency  I  will  wait  on  you 
tomorrow  at  one  o'clock,  to  have  a  short  conversation  with  you  on  this 
subject. 

"  Sensible  of  the  importance  of  your  time  devoted  to  the  service  of 
your  country,  I  should  not  wish  to  intrude  on  it  for  a  moment ;  But  the 
tremendous  power  of  Bonaparte  in  Europe,  his  activity,  and  future  pros- 
pects of  domination,  renders  it  absolutely  necessary  that  both  our  govern- 
ments in  their  present  negotiation  should  substitute  a  spirit  of  confidence 
justice  &  forbearance  to  jealousy  &  petty  acts  of  irritation.  Mr.  Pinkney 
our  minister  has  the  full  confidence  of  the  President,  &  is  himself  well 
disposed  to  promote  a  happy  reconciliation — 

"Accept  assurances  of  my  respect 

"GEO.  LOGAN. 
"His  EXCELLENCY  MARQUIS  WELLESLEY" 

John  Randolph  to  Dr.  Logan,  Stenton. 

"  Many  thanks,  my  good  Sir,  for  your  friendly  remembrance  of  me ; 
for  your  letter  &  for  the  accompanying  pamphlet.  It  came  in  the  nick  of 
time — but  old  maxims  as  well  as  old  politicians  are  out  of  date.  '  New 
Lords  new  Laws.' 

"I  am  worn  out  with  fatigue.  My  best  regards  to  Mrs  L.  &  present 
me  to  your  sons.  Believe  with  the  respect  which  I  can  feel  only  for  a 
country  gentleman  of  the  old  school  &  a  consistent  politician  who  knows 
no  party  but  the  Commonwealth,  very  truly 

"  yours, 

"JOHN  RANDOLPH  OF  ROANOKE. 
"GEORGETOWN  Jan.  24.  1810 

{John  Randolph  to  Dr.  Logan.} 

"  BIZANE  Dec  4,  1810 

"  DEAR  DOCTOR, — Permit  me  to  congratulate  you,  which  I  do  very 
sincerely,  upon  your  safe  return  to  the  '  good  old  United  States' — our 
common  country.  The  object  of  your  visit  to  Europe ;  whatever  it  may 

1 80 


Hppenfcii 

have  been — whether  pleasure  health,  or  patriotism,  or  all  three  united — I 
trust  has  been  happily  attained ;  &  I  promise  myself  that  on  your 
return  among  us,  you  will  have  found  those  alarming  symptoms  of  febrile 
excitement  &  irregular  action  which  prevailed  in  the  body  politic  at  the 
period  of  your  departure,  happily  assuaged.  I  promise  myself  great 
pleasure  in  seeing  &  conversing  with  you  this  winter  at  Washington, 
where  I  make  sure  you  will  spend  some  days.  The  more  especial  pur- 
pose however  of  this  letter  is  to  introduce  to  your  acquaintance,  &  to 
recommend  to  your  good  offices  my  relation,  Mr  Theodorick  Bland 
Dudley,  whom  I  trust  you  will  FIND  deserving  of  them. 

' '  yours  sincerely. 

"JOHN  RANDOLPH 

"OF  ROANOKE. 
"DR  LOGAN" 

(Dr.  Logan  to  James  Madison,  President  of  the  United  States.} 

"  LONDON  July,  1810. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — The  government  of  the  United  States  in  renewing  com- 
merce with  the  belligerents,  has  done  our  country  great  honour,  as  this 
magnanimous  act  will  afford  to  both  nations,  another  opportunity  to  do 
us  justice,  &  to  restore  our  friendship — It  has  powerfully  strengthened  our 
friends  in  this  country,  &  what  ever  may  be  the  feelings  of  the  Adminis- 
tration :  even  the  ministry  in  private  conversation  &  in  parliament,  pro- 
fess a  desire  to  preserve  peace  with  the  United  States — This  sentiment  is 
general  among  every  class  of  citizens,  which  I  have  witnessed  in  several 
instances — I  lately  attended  the  annual  meeting  of  the  agricultural  society 
of  Surrey,  above  eighty  gentlemen  of  the  first  characters  in  the  county 
were  present  at  dinner  the  two  members  of  parliament  for  the  county  pre- 
sided, when  the  following  toast  was  received  with  great  acclamation — 
'  Doctor  Logan  &  may  harmony  be  restored  between  Great  Britain  &  the 
United  States  equally  honorable  &  beneficial  to  both' — I  am  just  returned 
from  attending  the  annual  agricultural  meetings  of  the  Duke  of  Bedford 
at  Woburn  ;  &  of  Mr  Coke  at  Holkham ;  both  attended  by  many  of  the 
first  nobility  &  gentry  in  the  kingdom — At  the  first  a  universal  desire  was 
expressed  to  preserve  peace  with  the  United  States — at  the  latter  a  senti- 
ment of  that  kind  was  drank  by  340  persons  at  table ;  on  this  occasion 

181 


HppenMi 

partaking  of  the  hospitality  of  Mr  Coke  among  whom  were  the  Duke  of 
Bedford,  Sir  John  Sinclair,  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  ect — Mr  Coke  has  pre- 
sented me  with  a  new  improved  drilling  machine,  which  he  makes  use  of 
himself,  &  thinks  its  being  introduced  among  us,  it  will  be  a  benefit  to 
the  United  States — As  to  public  affairs  I  am  a  stranger  to  what  is  passing 
between  Mr  Pinkney  &  Marquis  Wellesley.  As  a  private  citizen  I  have 
not  thought  it  proper  to  enquire  into  the  negotiation — But  as  your  friend 
I  have  considered  it  my  duty  to  remove  some  prejudices  respecting  your 
attachment  to  France  &  that  you  would  rather  make  a  sacrifice  to  France, 
than  to  seek  peace  with  England.  I  have  also  expressed  an  earnest  desire, 
that  the  remaining  shadow  of  the  orders  in  council  should  be  removed,  to 
ensure  the  success  of  the  negotiation  so  auspiciously  commenced  between 

the  two  governments — 

"  accept  assurances 

"  of  my  esteem  &  friendship 

"GEO.  LOGAN." 

(Dr.  Logan  to  James  Madison,  President  of  the  United  States.} 

"NEW  YORK,  Feb.y  igth  1810. 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR, — Since  my  arrival  here,  I  have  had  a  conversation 
with  Mr  Jackson.  Whilst  he  regrets  his  being  dismissed  ;  he  assures  me, 
that  he  does  not  consider  it  will  be  a  cause  of  rupture  with  his  govern- 
ment ;  and  that  his  representations  to  his  court,  have  been  to  allay,  not 
increase  the  present  unhappy  difficulties  between  the  two  countries — 
Whilst  in  Philadelphia  he  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  the  wealth,  in- 
dustry and  extensive  internal  commerce  of  that  State,  and  I  am  satisfied 
from  his  observations  respecting  the  United  States,  that  he  considers  our 
friendship  of  importance  to  his  country — 

"I  expect  to  embark   in    the    morning.     Accept  assurances  of  my 

esteem  and  friendship 

"  GEO.  LOGAN." 

(Dr.  Logan  to  James  Madison,  President  of  the  United  States.} 

"STENTON  December  I7th  1811. 

"DEAR  SIR, — Every  friend  of  the  civilized  world  must  contemplate 
with  deep  regret  the  melancholy  spectacle  of  discord  &  disorder  which 
the  present  barbarous  system  of  commercial  warfare  has  introduced. 

182 


Hppenfcii 

Flourishing  states  in  place  of  striving  together  in  industry,  in  science  & 
in  policy  are  sneakingly  engaged  in  destroying  the  domestic  comforts  of 
the  most  destitute  of  mankind.  It  is  to  little  purpose  to  inquire  by 
whose  fault  such  a  state  of  things  has  been  brought  about ;  all  that  is 
now  necessary  is  to  impress  on  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  a  just 
abhorrence  of  that  spirit  of  revenge  which  has  unhappily  broke  out  & 
which  has  cast  so  deep  a  stain  on  the  character  &  policy  of  modern  times 
— of  the  evils  brought  upon  the  world  by  this  system,  there  can  be  no 
doubt — commerce  has  been  deranged  &  discouraged — every  sort  of  ob- 
stacle has  been  thrown  in  the  way  of  industry  &  improvement,  &  all 
those  who  depend  for  a  subsistence  on  trade  have  been  exposed  to  severe 
suffering — The  merchant  has  been  distressed — in  many  cases  ruined — 
the  farmer  impoverished — and  the  labourer  deprived  of  employment,  has 
been  disabled  from  providing  by  his  industry  for  himself  and  his  de- 
pendent family — These  are  the  glories  of  this  new  system  of  hostility, 
which  has  converted  war  from  a  chivalrick  and  generous  contest  between 
fleets  &  armies  into  a  paltry  &  cruel  attack  on  the  most  destitute.  When 
we  see  the  rulers  of  nations — the  natural  guardians  of  human  happiness, 
so  quietly  acquiescing  in  the  misery  of  mankind  and  under  the  pretext  of 
great  national  objects  playing  the  game  of  their  own  little  passions  & 
prejudices,  is  there  not  some  reason  to  doubt  whether  any  Sentiment  of 
pity  for  the  numerous  train  of  helpless  sufferers  who  are  ruined  by  their 
measures,  ever  touches  their  breasts  ?  they  are  surely  not  ignorant  that 
the  great  body  of  mankind  live  by  their  labour,  &  that  in  every  interrup- 
tion to  the  settled  course  of  industry,  large  classes  of  men  are  thrown 
idle  &  plunged  into  all  the  anxiety  incident  to  so  perplexing  a  situation 
— This  is  itself  a  great  evil,  &  a  serious  objection  to  the  policy  of  the 
measure — for  sound  policy  will  never  be  found  at  variance  with  hu- 
manity ;  &  there  is  no  quality  which  is  so  desirable  in  a  statesman  as  a 
quick  sensibility  to  the  sufferings  of  his  fellow  creatures,  whether  con- 
sidered with  a  view  to  its  own  intrinsic  excellence,  or  as  the  decided 
mark  of  an  exalted  intellect.  It  is  an  indisputable  axiom  of  sound 
policy,  that  where  any  measure  is  to  produce  evils  certain  immediate  & 
extensive,  we  ought  to  be  well  assured  that  its  remoter  effects  will  far 
outweigh  its  present  inconveniencies — This  is  precisely  the  vulnerable 

183 


BppenMr 

point  of  all  those  schemes  which  have  been  projected  for  the  annoyance 
of  commerce. 

"  It  is  a  fact  deserving  the  serious  attention  of  the  statesman,  that  the 
French  decrees,  British  orders  in  council,  &  the  commercial  warfare  of 
the  United  States,  besides  inflicting  on  these  several  nations  the  disgrace 
of  an  inhuman  &  dishonourable  warfare  are  operating  more  to  injure  their 
own  individual  prosperity  than  to  destroy  their  enemy. 

"As  to  the  actual  declaration  of  war  against  Great  Britain,  it  is  an 
affair  that  requires  the  most  mature  consideration.  I  trust  you  will  not 
give  up  your  own  sound  judgment  to  the  clamours  of  a  few  individuals 
amongst  us  men  as  destitute  of  honour,  as  of  genuine  patriotism.  If  we 
investigate  the  motives  of  these  men,  we  shall  find  them  influenced  by 
restless  ambition  or  desperate  fortune  ;  breathing  the  factious  spirit  of 
party,  not  the  universal  spirit  of  publick  good. 

"  The  republican  form  of  our  government  &  the  nature  of  our  popu- 
lation in  the  southern  states,  should  engage  us  as  a  Nation  at  this  momentous 
crisis  of  the  world  to  avoid  a  state  of  war,  even  supported  by  the  most 
just  resentment.  But  why  is  it  necessary  that  we  should  pass  thro  war  to 
arrive  at  peace  ?  The  situation  of  the  United  States  is  by  no  means  so 
desperate  as  to  preclude  the  hope  of  an  amicable  settlement  with  Great 
Britain,  the  happy  termination  of  which  will  do  you  honour  as  a  statesman, 
&  will  be  a  blessing  to  your  country.  To  these  considerations  permit  me 
to  add  that  you  have  an  established  reputation  to  support.  The  fame  you 
so  justly  acquired  in  promoting  the  liberties  of  your  country  &  in  estab- 
lishing the  present  happy  form  of  government  of  the  United  States, 
should  now  engage  you  as  chief  magistrate  to  make  use  of  your  influence 
to  prevent  war ;  by  which  both  may  be  endangered. 

"  I  beg  you  not  to  consider  this  letter  as  presuming  to  instruct — but  as 
the  strongest  testimony  of  my  friendship. 

"  accept  assurances 

"  of  my  sincere  respect 

"GEO.  LOGAN." 


184 


HppenMr 


{Dr.  Logan  to  Hon.  James  Monroe,  Secretary  of  State.} 

"STENTON  Nov.  10th  l8ll 

"  MY  DEAR  FRIEND, — Accept  my  thanks  for  your  polite  attention  in 
forwarding  to  me  the  President's  message — The  gloomy  aspect  it  gives  of 
the  situation  of  the  United  States  with  respect  to  our  foreign  relations, 
must  fill  the  mind  of  every  genuine  American  with  distress  ;  &  par- 
ticularly so,  as  there  is  too  much  reason  to  believe  that  the  national  council 
to  which  the  message  is  addressed,  &  to  which  we  are  to  look  for  national 
prosperity ;  is  composed  of  many  individuals  of  contracted  &  prejudiced 
minds.  Such  characters  meet  in  congress  not  calmly  to  discuss  the  most 
important  national  subjects  submitted  to  their  consideration,  but  merely 
to  act  according  to  what  they  call  the  public  opinion  of  the  district  they 
represent ;  which  in  times  of  commotion  like  the  present,  is  but  a  general 
mode  of  expression,  which  every  one  applies  to  his  own  private  opinion, 
&  to  that  of  his  party,  without  any  regard  to  truth,  justice,  &  the  nature 
of  things.  A  wise  &  vigorous  administration  does  not  follow  but  leads 
public  opinion  :  &  it  almost  always  happens  that  the  governed  find  in  the 
end,  that  the  opinion  of  the  administration  is  far  better  than  the  innumer- 
able clashing  opinions  which  demagogues  call  the  general  opinion — This 
was  amply  verified  in  the  decision  of  Genl  Washington  on  Jays  treaty. 
No  act  of  the  President  at  this  alarming  crisis  would  afford  greater  satis- 
faction to  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  than  his  announcing  to  con- 
gress his  determination  to  send  a  mission  to  England,  in  order  to  make  a 
final  effort  to  restore  peace  &  harmony,  on  terms  equally  honourable  & 
beneficial  to  both  countries — Should  an  attempt  so  honourable  to  the  ad- 
ministration, fail,  owing  to  the  folly  &  obstinacy  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment ;  the  effort  would  unite  our  own  citizens  to  meet  future  calamities 
with  the  united  strength  of  our  whole  population.  In  any  future  negoti- 
ation with  G.  Britain,  let  both  governments  banish  petty  views,  jealousy, 
&  half  way  measures — adopting  a  liberal  upright  policy — a  common  in- 
terest will  urge  both  nations  to  a  sincere  reconciliation  ;  particularly  when 
we  contemplate  the  fatal  dissolution  of  Europe,  at  this  moment  Suffering 
under  a  military  despot — divested  of  all  antient  ties,  of  all  reciprocal 
attachments  &  fidelity,  of  all  natural  &  political  relationship,  &  of  all 
13  i85 


HppenMr 

public  &  national  spirit — Whatever  measures  Congress  may  think  proper 
to  adopt ;  I  hope  they  will  relinquish  the  present  dastardly  &  infamous 
commercial  warfare,  in  which  the  disinterested  patriotism  of  the  brave 
soldier  to  defend  his  country,  is  converted  into  a  cowardly  sneeking  attack 
on  the  domestic  comforts  of  the  poor  manufacturer. 

"  Mrs  Logan  unites  with  me  in  best  respects  to  yourself  &  family. 

"  accept  assurances  of  my  esteem 

GEO.  LOGAN. 
"  HON  J.  MONROE 

"Secretary  of  State" 

(Dr.  Logan  to  James  Madison.} 

STENTON  March  31  1812. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — Altho  not  in  public  life,  I  feel  with  the  deepest  anguish, 
the  progress  of  events  passing  before  my  eyes,  and  in  an  alarming  degree 
threatening  the  peace  of  my  country. 

"  We  appear  to  be  approaching  a  crisis  in  our  affairs,  which  calls  for  the 
whole  wisdom  of  our  councils — I  allude  to  the  contemplated  invasion  of 
Canada — a  subject  every  rational  citizen  regards  with  horror. 

"  Perhaps  you  may  ask,  why  I  trouble  you  who  have  so  much  important 
business  on  your  hands,  with  my  political  opinions  ?  Because  I  am  your 
friend,  &  because  as  chief  magistrate,  invested  with  immense  power,  re- 
specting our  foreign  relations,  it  rests  with  you  to  restore  peace  &  pros- 
perity to  our  distracted  country — No  period  of  time  was  ever  more 
propitious  than  the  present  to  preserve  peace  between  the  United  States  & 
Great  Britain.  The  Prince  of  Wales  has  just  come  to  the  throne — he  is 
in  his  political  principles  a  decided  Whig — his  associates  have  always 
been  the  friends  of  the  United  States ;  in  opposition  to  the  contracted 
views  of  his  father — A  respectable  mission  sent  to  England  to  congratu- 
late him  on  the  event ;  &  at  the  same  time  by  amicable  discussion  to  point 
out  the  mutual  interest  of  both  countries  to  preserve  peace.  Would  en- 
able you  at  the  meeting  of  congress  in  December  next  to  submit  to  the 
consideration  of  Senate  a  treaty  honourable  to  yourself  &  beneficial  to 
your  country — I  speak  with  confidence  derived  from  personal  conver- 
sations, when  lately  in  England,  with  men  of  all  parties  &  in  every 
situation  of  life. 

186 


HppenMi 

"  We  have  had  sufficient  experience  of  the  total  failure  &  ill  effects  of 
recrimination  &  retaliation — even  supported  by  the  partiality  of  many  of 
the  most  distinguished  characters  in  England — 

"  Proceed  to  the  invasion  of  Canada,  or  adopt  any  other  hostile  measure 
favourable  to  France  ;  &  you  will  unite  every  man  in  Great  Britain  against 
you. 

"  It  is  not  my  business  decisively  to  blame  or  excuse  the  pretexts,  urged 
by  either  contending  party.  I  know  that  every  one's  own  cause  appears 
the  most  just.  I  only  desire  that  before  we  involve  our  country  in  the 
miseries  of  war ;  We  should  adopt  measures  of  the  most  sincere  pacifi- 
cation not  only  to  Satisfy  our  own  minds,  but  such  as  will  justify  us  in  the 
opinion  of  the  present  &  future  generations — Let  us  remove  from  the 
path  of  peace  every  hostile  act — Let  us  negotiate  with  candour,  frankness, 
&  forbearance  becoming  the  republican  character. 

"  The  crisis  will  not  admit  of  frivolous  ceremony  or  procrastination — I 
address  you  in  the  language  of  a  friend,  and  in  the  spirit  of  a  free  citizen. 
I  conjure  you  as  you  value  your  future  peace  of  mind,  and  the  liberties  of 
your  country  over  which  you  preside  not  to  lose  a  moment  in  restoring  the 
peace  happiness  &  prosperity  of  our  beloved  country. 

"  May  God  give  you  wisdom  &  firmness  of  mind  in  this  day  of  trial. 

"  accept  assurances 

"  of  my  friendship 

"  GEO.  LOGAN 

"  HON  JAS.  MADISON 

"  President  L.  S." 


(Dr.  Logan  to  James  Madison,  President. .) 

"  STENTON  January  i8th  1813. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — An  editorial  notice  in  the  National  Intelligencer,  '  that  it 
was  intended  to  introduce  into  the  Legislature  a  proposition  for  excluding 
by  law,  foreign  seamen  from  the  public  &  private  vessels  of  the  United 
States;'  gives  general  satisfaction  to  your  fellow  citizens.  A  few  indi- 
viduals among  us,  influenced  by  the  basest  motives,  may  censure  every  act 
of  the  Government  calculated  to  restore  peace  and  prosperity  to  our  dis- 

187 


HppenMx 

tracted  country — the  clamours  of  such  profligate  characters,  should  not 
for  a  moment  influence  our  public  councils. 

"  I  consider  the  contemplated  law  consistent  with  justice,  sound  policy 
&  national  honour;  and  therefore  wish  you  to  have  the  merit  of  recom- 
mending it  to  the  attention  of  Congress — From  my  conversation  with 
members  of  different  political  opinions,  during  my  late  visit  to  Washing- 
ton. I  am  satisfied,  it  will  be  supported  by  a  great  majority  of  both 
Houses,  particularly  if  proposed  by  yourself,  as  a  measure  of  peace,  on 
which  you  may  negotiate  a  treaty  of  friendship  &  commerce  with  Great 
Britain.  Notwithstanding  some  unfavourable  appearances ;  a  peace  may 
yet  be  obtained  between  the  United  States  &  Great  Britain  equally  honour- 
able &  beneficial  to  both  countries.  I  speak  on  this  subject  with  con- 
fidence, founded  on  intimate  conversations  with  men  of  all  parties  &  in 
every  situation  of  life,  when  last  in  England.  Their  best  informed  men 
acknowledged  that  it  is  not  the  interest  of  their  country  to  be  at  war  with 
the  United  States — Should  the  war  be  protracted,  &  the  American  nation, 
after  years  of  blood  shed  &  devastation  become  conquerors,  cui  bono  ?  I 
appeal  to  your  own  accurate  knowledge  of  history;  What  miseries 
were  inflicted  on  Sweden,  by  the  mad  ambition  of  Charles  XII.  &  on 
France  by  the  conquests  of  Louis  XIV.  In  the  fatal  war  of  1756,  France 
lost  great  part  of  the  flower  of  its  youth,  more  than  half  its  current 
money  of  the  Kingdom — its  navy,  commerce  &  credit.  It  was  believed, 
it  was  very  easy  to  have  prevented  all  these  misfortunes,  by  friendly 
negotiation.  But  some  ambitious  persons  to  make  themselves  necessary 
&  important,  plunged  France  into  this  fatal  war. 

"A  great  statesman  will  banish  war;  generally  terminating  in  the 
mutual  destruction  of  Nations — miserable  motives  of  policy,  which  sub- 
stitute vengeance,  hatred,  jealousy  &  cupidity ;  to  those  divine  precepts 
which  constitute  the  true  glory  &  happiness  of  nations. 

' '  accept  assurances 

"of  my  friendship 

«GEO.  LOGAN" 


188 


APPENDIX    VII 

Copies  of  ZTbree  OLetters  from  Colonel  Uimotbs?  flMcfcerins 
to  2>r.  George  Xogan 

"  WASHINGTON  May  26th  1813. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — You  will  observe  that  the  Russian  mediation  is  a  promi- 
nent feature  in  the  President's  message  of  yesterday.  It  is  at  the  same 
time  apparent  that  he  does  not  entertain  even  a  hope  of  its  successful 
issue.  One  inference  from  his  statement  is  certain — that  the  British  gov- 
ernment knows  nothing  of  it.  And  is  it  credible  that  the  Emperor  of 
Russia  would  offer  his  mediation  without  first  consulting  that  government 
and  ascertaining  that  his  Friendly  interposition  would  be  accepted? 
When  he  and  his  intelligent  ministers  with  whom  he  would  advise,  must 
know  that  the  rejection  of  such  proffered  mediation,  however  well 
founded  that  rejection,  would  furnish  a  new  ground  of  clamour  on  the 
part  of  the  American  administration,  against  the  great  and  friendly  power 
united  with  him  in  most  important  operations  against  a  common  enemy  ? 
And,  when,  too,  that  friend  lay  directly  in  his  way,  and  three  thousand 
miles  nearer  to  him  than  the  United  States  ? — Yet  the  President  says  the 
offer  of  this  mediation  was  '  formally  communicated  from  his  imperial 
majesty;'  and  that  it  was  'immediately  accepted.'  But  I  have  witnessed 
so  many  misrepresentations  and  unfounded  assertions  of  Mr  Madisons, 
that  I  do  not  feel  myself  under  any  obligation  to  believe  him  in  this 
instance.  Your  information  given  me  last  Wednesday  morning,  in  Phila- 
delphia, satisfied  me  that  DashkofFs  overture,  in  the  name  of  his  master, 
originated  in  your  ardent  desire  of  peace,  urging  you  to  press  upon  him 
the  making  of  that  offer:  and  the  declaration  of  Mr  Wagner,  in  the 
Federal  Republican,  that  the  offer  was  in  the  first  instance  rejected, 
equally  satisfies  me  that  the  President's  assertion  that  '  the  offer  was  im- 
mediately accepted'  is  not  true.  Now,  my  dear  sir,  I  pray  you  to  favour 
me,  and  as  speedily  as  you  can,  with  a  plain  statement  of  the  facts  in  the 
case,  as  they  occurred  between  you  and  Mr.  Dashkoff:  for  above  all 

189 


Hppenfcu 

things  I  am  solicitous  that  my  whole  conduct  should  be  guided  by  Truth  : 
because  it  is  among  the  highest  duties,  and  the  express  injunction  of  our 
religion,  that  '  every  man  speak  the  truth  to  his  neighbour : '  and  because 
my  only  hope  of  our  political  reformation  and  consequent  salvation  of 
our  country,  rests  on  the  strict  adherence  of  its  real  advocates  and  sup- 
porters to  Truth. 

"There  are  many  reasons  why  Mr  Madison  finally  seized  on  Dash- 
koffs  overtures,  without  any  expectation  of  the  Russian  mediation  pro- 
ducing peace  : — Such  as  the  increasing  opposition  to  the  war,  especially  in 
the  Northern  States ;  the  delays  in  the  first  loan,  and  the  actual  failure  of 
the  last,  untill  three  foreigners,  tempted  by  an  usurious  interest,  imperti- 
nently interfered,  and  in  form  (I  have  reason  to  doubt  the  reality  as  to 
the  whole  deficit  of  nine  Millions)  took  up  the  greater  portion  of  it ; — the 
known  repugnance  of  the  people,  especially  in  the  states  eager  for  the 
war,  to  the  payment  of  internal  taxes,  and  the  equal  fear  in  their  repre- 
sentatives to  impose  them ;  the  advantage  to  be  derived  from  a  rejection 
of  the  mediation  by  G:  Britain  which  seems  evidently  to  have  been  ap- 
prehended— which  Mr  Madison  would  too  well  know  how  to  convert  into  a 
fresh  stimulus  to  popular  resentment,  and  a  new  motive  for  prosecuting  the 
war ; — and,  at  all  events,  the  time  he  would  gain  to  wait  the  issue  of  the 
present  Campaign,  when  it  would  be  seen  whether  his  congenial  associate 
in  the  war  would  remain  in  a  state  of  depression,  or  be  able  to  drive  back 
the  Russians  'to  their  frightful  climate,'  and  conformably  to  either  issue, 
enable  him  to  regulate  his  conduct  towards  Great  Britain;  and  in  the 
mean  time  the  expected  patience  of  the  people  soothed  by  this  prospect 
of  peace,  still  longer  to  bear  the  calamities  of  war : — These  considera- 
tions are  abundantly  sufficient  to  account  for  the  Presidents  finally  accept- 
ing DashkofFs  preferred  mediation  of  Russia. 

"Altho'  the  President  expressly  recommends  the  laying  of  internal 
taxes,  and  the  administration  majority  have  given  too  many  proofs  of 
their  subserviency  to  the  wishes  of  the  executive,  to  admit  a  doubt  of 
their  disposition  to  comply  in  this  case;  yet  when  that  subserviancy 
would  put  in  extreme  jeopardy  their  own  popularity, — their  obedience 
may  well  be  questioned.  I  am  informed  that  they  are  divided  in  their 
views,  and  the  opinion  of  some  of  the  most  discerning  federalists  is,  that 

190 


HppenMi 

notwithstanding  the  sole  avowed  object  of  our  meeting  here  was  to  lay 
internal  taxes,  Congress  will  rise  without  imposing  them  ;  preferring  to 
lay,  by  further  loans  intolerable  burthens  on  the  next  and  succeeding 
generations,  to  the  rendering  themselves  and  their  unprincipled  man 

popular. 

"  I  am,  dear  Sir 

"  faithfully  yours, 

"  TIMOTHY  PICKERING 
"  GEORGE  LOGAN  ESQR" 

"  CITY  OF  WASHINGTON,  Jany  29  1814. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — When  I  first  saw  in  the  newspapers  the  extract  from  Mr 
Jefferson's  letter  of  Oct.  ;th  to  you,  I  pronounced  it  to  be  genuine  :  but  at 
the  same  time  said  it  gave  me  no  evidence  that  he  really  rejoiced  at  the  Rus- 
sian victories : — and  I  added,  that  the  sole  motive  for  his  expressing  the 
sentiment  to  you  was — in  expectation  that  you  would  publish  it  to  repel 
the  charge  on  him  and  his  party,  '  that  they  were  under  French  influ- 
ence' and  this  was  precisely  the  inference  made  to  me  a  few  days  since  by 
one  of  the  majority,  when  the  same  sentiment  of  Mr  Jeffersons  was  read 
to  him  from  another  of  his  letters  written  long  before — '  You  see  (said  the 
Member)  that  Mr  Jefferson  is  no  more  under  French  influence  than  you 
are.' 

"  And  now,  my  dear  sir,  what  will  you  think  of  your  former  old  Friend 
Jefferson,  on  reading  the  following  which  I  recite  from  memory  but  sub- 
stantially, and  I  am  sure  nearly  in  the  words  of  a  letter  dated  the  24th 
Instant,  written  by  a  distinguished  citizen  of  Virginia  to  his  friend  in  the 
Senate,  which  I  read  but  half  an  hour  ago  : 

"  '  With  in  six  or  eight  weeks  past,  Mr  Jefferson  has  written  a  letter  to  a 
gentleman  in  the  South  of  Virginia,  containing  sentiments  directly  oppo- 
site to  those  expressed  in  his  letter  to  Dr  Logan,  I  know  it. 

"  '  Many  years  ago  I  denounced  Mr  Jefferson  as  the  Arch  Hypocrite  : 
and  to  some  Clergymen  with  whom  I  was  conversing  I  added,  That  I 
never  felt  the  force  of  our  Saviour's  denunciation  "  Wo  unto  you  scribes 
and  pharisees  hypocrites" — four  or  five  times  repeated,  untill  I  knew  Mr 
Jefferson :  for  hypocrisy  was  a  mark  for  every  vice  and  crime  which 
wicked  men  commit.' 

191 


Hppentni 

"I  have  received  a  letter  or  two  from  you  not  particularly  acknowl- 
edged.   I  shall  be  glad  on  my  way  home  to  see  you,  and  to  read  Jefferson's 
letter  of  Oct.  3d  which  you  kindly  offer  for  my  perusal. 
"  Your  assured  friend 

"TIMOTHY  PICKERING 
"DR.  LOGAN." 

"CiTY  OF  WASHINGTON,  Feby  24,  1816. 

"DEAR  SIR, — Yesterday  I  received  your  letter  of  the  igih  inclosing 
the  Copy  of  Yours  to  Mr  Jefferson  bearing  date  the  1 5th  of  last  October. 
I  am  gratified  by  the  frankness  manifested  in  your  repeated  communica- 
tions to  me.  I  have  long  been  convinced  of  your  ardent  love  of  Peace, 
as  essentially  related  to  the  best  interests  of  your  country  and  to  man.  To 
secure  those  interests  it  required  more  public  virtue  than  belongs  to  the 
leaders  who  have  governed  the  United  States  for  the  last  fifteen  years. 
All  the  evils  which  have  afflicted  the  country  during  that  period,  and  for  the 
preceding  years  as  far  back  as  to  the  commencement  of  the  opposition  to 
the  measures  of  Genl  Washington's  administration,  may  be  traced  to  your 
professed  Friend  Thomas  Jefferson,  as  their  main  source.  But  for  him  his 
successor  might  have  remained,  what  he  was  once  called,  '  the  virtuous 
and  amiable  Madison.'  I  once  heard  Mr  Jefferson  speak  in  very  high 
terms  of  the  late  Patrick  Henry  of  Virginia,  particularly  as  master  of  the 
most  commanding  eloquence  he  ever  knew.  General  Washington  also 
entertained  a  high  opinion  of  Mr  Henry.  It  is  not  two  weeks  since, 
dining  with  some  of  my  respected  friends  in  Alexandria,  one  of  them 
stated,  that  Patrick  Henry  said  he  could  forgive  Mr.  Jefferson  every  thing 
but  his  corrupting  Mr  Madison.  Meaning,  certainly,  that  this  among  his 
misdeeds,  was  peculiarly  mischievous  and  criminal. 

"Jefferson  soon  discovered  the  force  of  Hamilton's  superior  genius; 
and  envy  filled  his  breast.  He  perceived  the  weight  of  his  opinions  in  the 
Councils  of  Washington  and  believed  that  Hamilton  stood  in  the  way  of 
his  ambition.  Artful  and  unprincipled,  he  could  select,  especially  in 
Congress,  the  instruments  of  his  ambition  without  their  perceiving  that 
he  had  any  other  object  in  view  than  his  countrys  freedom  and  wellfare. 
Some  others  were  set  to  work,  because  no  Principle  stood  in  the  way  of  their 

192 


Hppenbti 

conforming  to  his  views,  and  implicitly  obeying  his  dictates.  A  part  were 
mercenaries,  and  content  with  their  wages.  To  others  prospective  but 
greater  rewards  were  most  alluring  : — all  expecting  honorary  or  lucrative 
offices,  or  to  share  in  the  exercise  of  the  ruling  power. 

"The  Government  had  been  organized  not  more  than  two  years  when 
Mr  Jefferson  set  up  the  National  Gazette,  in  the  name  of  Philip  Freneau. 
This  man  had  some  talents,  and  he  was  poor ;  and  pliant  enough  to  direct 
those  talents  in  the  course  Mr  Jefferson  should  require.  At  that  time 
George  Taylor  was  chief  Clerk  in  the  department  of  State.  He  had  been 
employed  by  the  able,  excellent,  and  upright  Jay,  while  Secretary  of  for- 
eign affairs  under  the  Old  Congress,  and  was  a  competent  translator  of  the 
French  (and  I  believe  also  of  the  Spanish  language)  As  such,  and  as  a 
faithful  Clerk,  Mr  Jay  recommended  him  to  Mr  Jefferson,  when  the  latter 
was  appointed  Secretary  of  State.  Jefferson  received  him  as  a  Clerk  :  but 
made  Freneau  translator  of  the  French  language,  not  large  indeed,  but 
sufficient  in  that  day  to  pay  his  board  ;  $200  a  year  Freneau  was  but  an 
indifferent  translator.  Besides,  to  perform  his  task  effectually  and  at  all 
times,  would  withdraw  him  too  much  from  his  useful  labours  in  conducting 
the  National  Gazette.  To  lessen  this  interuption,  Jefferson  himself  would 
join  Taylor  in  performing  the  drudgery  of  translating. 

The  direct  object  of  the  National  Gazette  was  to  undermine  President 
Washington's  Administration.  Its  effect  however  was  limited.  The 
public  mind  had  not  then  been  sufficiently  contaminated  :  and  the  Na- 
tional Gazette  sunk  for  want  of  the  sufficient  support  of  an  adequate  sub- 
scription. The  labours  of  the  chief  miner,  however  were  not  intermitted, 
and  the  measures  indispensable  to  retrieving  the  public  credit  and  pro- 
viding for  the  sacred  debt  of  the  Revolution,  which  it  was  the  duty  of 
Hamilton  to  devise  and  propose,  furnished  topics  enough  for  popular 
clamour,  of  which  Jefferson  and  his  adherents  made  the  most  mischievous 
use.  And  this  was  easy  to  accomplish :  because  no  public  acts  are  so 
odious  as  those  which  impose  New  Taxes.  Instead  of  endeavouring  like 
an  honest  man  and  good  citizen,  to  allay  the  popular  ferment ;  Jefferson 
rejoiced.  Of  this  we  have  the  evidence  under  his  own  hand,  in  one  of  his 
letters  to  Callender,  which,  in  Jefferson's  own  hand-writing  I  have  repeat- 
edly read.  '  Such  papers,"  he  said  (he  was  mentioning  the  '  Prospect  before 

193 


HppenMr 

us')  '  would  enlighten  the  public  mind,  and  the  tax-gatherers  will  do  the 
rest."  The  appointing  of  Gallatin  secretary  of  the  Treasury  furnishes  addi- 
tional proof.  It  was  an  outrage  on  all  decency  as  well  as  on  the  claims  of 
native  Americans,  to  commit  the  care  and  management  of  our  finances  to 
this  foreigner  and  notorious  and  chief  Instigator  of  the  Whiskey  Rebel- 
lion. The  assured  Repeal  of  the  Whiskey  and  other  internal  taxes 
accompanied  by  other  acts  of  demagogues,  made  Mr  Jefferson  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States. 

"The  violent  and  unprincipled  opposition  to  Mr  Jays  Treaty  cannot 
be  forgotten  by  any  one  who  lived  in  that  day,  and  was  at  all  conversant 
in  public  transactions.  Few  have  traced  it  to  its  source.  Probably  most 
have  resolved  it  into  a  popular  Frenzy  which  sometimes  agitates  the  mul- 
titude without  any  adequate  cause. 

"  You  know  that  the  Treaty  of  Peace  of  1783  (for  the  extensive  bene- 
fits of  which  we  are  chiefly  indebted  to  that  eminent  Statesman  and  in- 
flexibly honest  man  Mr  Jay)  contained  a  stipulation,  that  there  should 
be  no  legal  impediment  to  the  recovery  of  debts  due  on  either  side,  prior 
to  the  war  thereby  terminated.  The  object  of  this  stipulation,  tho'  re- 
ciprocal in  terms,  every  one  knows  was  to  enable  the  British  merchants 
to  recover  their  Bona-fide  debts  due  from  our  Citizens  especially  in  the 
middle  and  Southern  States,  of  which  Virginia  was  the  chief.  But  legal 
impediments  were  interposed;  above  all  by  Virginia.  This  caused  the 
British  Government  to  hold  the  frontier  ports,  and  this  became  another 
topic  for  popular  clamour,  particularly  as  it  was  connected,  in  the  public 
mind,  with  the  distressing  Indian  War. 

"It  is  now  two  years  since  John  Francis  Mercer,  formerly  a  member  of 
the  Old  as  well  as  the  New  Congress,  told  Me,  That  prior  to  the  Treaty 
of  Peace  with  Britain,  which  was  negociated  in  the  autumn  of  1782, 
The  Legislature  of  Virginia  instructed  their  delegates  in  Congress,  to 
consent  to  No  Peace  containing  a  stipulation  to  pay  the  debts  due  to  the 
British  merchants,  which  debts  had  been  paid  (tho1  in  depreciated  paper) 
into  the  Treasury  of  Virginia.  Mercer  was  one  of  those  Delegates,  and 
being  a  young  man  (such  was  his  apology)  he  obeyed  his  Instructions ; 
while  his  Colleagues  voted  for  the  ratification. 

"In  consequence  of  the  Legal  Impediments  (that  is  impediments 

194 


HppenMr 

created  by  State  Laws)  the  British  debts  remained  unpaid  in  some  of  the 
states — eminently  so  in  Virginia.  Now  when  in  1794  President  Wash- 
ington and  his  enlightened  and  upright  friends  &  Counsellors,  judged  it 
for  the  best  Interest  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  the  demand  of 
humanity,  that  in  the  first  instance  an  attempt  should  be  made  to  adjust 
all  our  differences  (New  and  Old)  with  G.  Britain,  by  amicable  negotia- 
tion ;  when  every  man  of  common  sense  and  common  honesty  saw  and 
felt,  that  at  the  time  we  should  require  from  that  country  reparation  for 
wrongs,  indemnity  for  unwarrantable  depredations  on  our  commerce,  and 
a  surrender  of  the  frontier  posts,  for  ten  years  withheld, — we  should  be 
willing  and  offer  to  do  justice  in  return :  it  was  plain  that  Great  Britain 
would  require  a  fresh  stipulation  to  pay  the  debts  due  to  her  Merchants, 
as  an  indispensable  condition  of  any  treaty  with  the  United  States. 
Doubtless  it  was  the  full  and  certain  expectation  of  this  reciprocal 
demand  that  rendered  the  Virginian  oppositionists  particularly  averse  to 
the  proposed  negotiation.  Monroe  was  then  a  Senator  from  Virginia. 
He  said,  We  want  no  treaty  :  let  us  have  war.  This  fact  was  related  to 
me  by  Governor  Strong,  then  a  senator  from  Massachusetts :  and  there 
lives  not  a  man  of  more  perfect  veracity. 

"When  once  General  Washington  was  satisfied  of  the  correctness  and 
utility  of  a  measure  no  opposition  could  deter  him  from  its  adoption. 
Mr  Jay  sacrificing  all  other  considerations  to  his  country's  good,  ac- 
cepted the  Mission ;  anticipating  the  impossibility  of  forming  any  treaty 
which  in  the  actual  state  of  things,  should  be  universally  acceptable ; 
expecting  indeed  (as  I  have  been  assured)  the  very  unpopularity  which 
followed  the  result.  He  was  obliged  to  renew  the  stipulation  relative  to 
British  debts.  And  because  the  delay  of  so  many  years  giving  space  for 
numerous  deaths  and  bankruptcies  of  Debtors,  would  certainly  in  numer- 
ous cases  defeat  the  honest  claims  of  the  British  Creditors,  it  was  but 
right  and  just  that  the  United  States  the  party  bound  to  fulfill  the  stipu- 
lations of  the  treaty  of  peace,  should  be  responsible  for  all  failures 
arising  out  of  those  unwarrantable  delays.  Mr  Jay's  treaty  properly 
pledged  this  eventual  responsibility. 

"The  treaty  arrived,  and  two  thirds  of  the  Senate  (the  constitutional 
Majority)  advised  its  ratification.  It  would  be  too  tedious  nor  indeed 

195 


Hppenfcii 

have  I  time,  now  to  detail  to  you  the  circumstances  that  delayed  the 
final  ratification  of  the  President.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  it  was  Ratified 
in  August  1795.  The  Senate  gave  their  advice  in  May.  The  unfortunate 
interval  was  industriously  employed  by  the  opposition  party  (You  will 
recollect  the  baseness  of  Stephens  Thompson  Mason,  the  Virginian  Senator, 
in  giving  the  substance  of  the  Treaty  to  Bache  to  publish)  in  stirring  up 
the  uninformed  multitude  from  Maine  to  Georgia,  to  clamour  and  vio- 
lently condemn  the  Treaty;  assuredly  in  confident  hope  that  General 
Washington  might  be  deterred  or  dissuaded  from  its  ratification.  In 
this  opposition  the  influence  of  Virginia  is  conspicuous.  She  had  once 
resisted  successfully  the  payment  of  British  debts :  for  there  was  then  no 
controul  over  State  power  and  Sovereignty.  Now  the  case  was  altered. 
The  Courts  of  the  United  States  would  cause  Justice  to  be  done.  Their 
authority  was  not  to  be  evaded  without  open  rebellion.  It  was  therefore 
all  important  to  prevent  the  ratification  of  the  Treaty  :  and  not  succeeding 
in  this,  its  execution  must  be  prevented,  by  withholding  the  necessary 
legislative  provisions.  You  will  recollect  the  final  issue.  Mr  Jefferson, 
when  President,  authorized  Mr  King  to  compromise  the  dispute  respect- 
ing British  debts,  by  stipulating  that  the  United  States,  should  pay  a 
certain  sum  in  full  of  all  demands  against  the  individual  debtors.  This 
sum  was  ^600,000.  Sterling,  or  $2,664,000.  and  this  you  know  was 
paid ;  and  principally  by  those  states  northward  of  Virginia  whose  Citi- 
zens had  honestly  paid  their  own  debts  to  the  British  merchants;  The 
Lords  of  the  Ancient  Dominion  finally  getting  rid  of  the  just  demands 
upon  them,  by  paying  a  small  share  of  the  whole  debt. 

"  Mr  Jefferson  having  attained  the  object  of  his  ambition — the  Presi- 
dency of  the  United  States,  He,  by  a  constant  abuse  of  power  brought 
upon  the  Nation  all  the  calamities  which  you  and  I  have  witnessed.  He 
might  have  renewed  Mr  Jay's  treaty,  which  had  expired  in  consequence 
of  the  peace  of  Amiens.  The  British  Government  made  the  offer.  He 
rejected  it.  He  by  his  partisans  (Madison  among  them)  had  violently 
opposed  that  treaty.  Their  pride  was  then  opposed  to  its  renewal.  But 
mark  the  cunning  of  the  man.  Monroe  was  instructed  (this  appeared  in 
the  public  documents  laid  before  Congress  in  1808)  to  propose  to  the 
British  Government,  that  altho'  he  could  not  renew  the  Treaty  of  Mr 

196 


HppenMi 

Jay,  it  should  nevertheless  continue  to  regulate  the  intercourse  between 
the  two  nations.  This  was  to  be  effected  by  an  'Understanding!' — 
Jefferson  forbade  the  concluding  of  any  treaty  with  Great  Britain,  unless 
it  contained  a  formal  stipulation  against  impressments ;  because  he  knew 
with  moral  certainty,  that  the  British  Government  would  not  and  could 
not  enter  into  such  a  stipulation.  He  knew  at  the  same  time,  from  their 
overweaning  confidence  in  him,  and  the  aid  of  his  partisans,  that  the 
People  would  easily  be  made  to  beleive  that  British  Pride  and  British 
injustice  alone  prevented  the  forming  of  an  amicable  treaty.  So  he  kept 
up  the  farce  of  an  amicable  negotiation,  until  Monroe  and  Pinkney, 
thinking  if  they  obtained  the  substance  they  need  not  stick  in  the  form, 
concluded  a  treaty,  but  the  former  stipulation  was  wanting,  and  he  sent 
the  treaty  back,  without  deigning  to  lay  it  before  the  Senate,  least  they 
(obsequious  as  they  generally  were)  should,  upon  the  whole,  approve  and 
advise  its  ratification. 

"The  next  fatal  measure  was  his  indefinite  embargo — recommended  on 
pretences  which  he  knew  to  be  unfounded  and  false  ;  but  which  was  to 
co-operate  with  Bonaparte's  Continental  system,  and  be  commensurate 
with  it.  It  was  the  completion  of  that  system ;  whose  object  was  the 
ruin  of  the  British  Commerce,  and  with  that,  of  British  power.  But 
tame  and  submissive  as  they  had  been  to  his  oppressive  measures,  the 
People  could  not  long  endure  this  wanton  suspension  of  their  lawful  pur- 
suits, which  were  indispensible  to  their  ordinary  support.  I  must  correct 
myself: — the  people  did  long — far  too  long,  bear  this  act  of  tyranny; — 
it  was  the  length  of  fifteen  months,  and  then  it  gave  way  to  another 
abominably  oppressive  measure — non  Intercourse  with  the  British  Do- 
minions— only  less  oppressive  than  the  Embargo.  The  residue  of  the 
restrictive  system  I  will  forbear  to  mention.  It  was  persevered  in  by 
his  faithful  Coadjutor  and  successor,  and  terminated  in  the  late  glorious 
war ;  as  they  and  their  partisans  have  the  folly  and  impudence  to  call  it. 
By  the  way — having  determined  on  War,  the  invasion  of  Canada  was  a 
measure  of  absolute  necessity :  for  base  and  wicked  as  Madison  and  his 
prime  Counsellors  were,  they  could  not  have  stood  up  in  view  of  the 
monstrous  absurdity  of  volantarily  declaring  war,  and  then  of  acting  only 
on  the  defensive. 

197 


HppenMi 

"The  war  has  come  to  an  end — but  not  its  mischievous  effects.  Be- 
sides the  monstrous  increase  of  corruption  and  a  war-debt  of  a  hundred 
millions,  we  are  now  saddled  with  an  army  of  ten-thousand  men,  for  a  per- 
manent peace  establishment.  And  as  if  this  were  not  enough,  the  Presi- 
dent and  his  minions  wish  to  increase  it,  by  a  corps  of  Invalids  of  two 
thousand  more.  And  they  are  conjuring  up  all  sorts  of  political  Hobgob- 
lins to  alarm  Members  of  Congress,  and  the  people  thro'  them,  to  favour 
and  keep  up  such  large  army  establishments.  And  this,  (after  so  long  a 
preamble)  brings  me  to  your  notice  of  Mr  Jeffersons  last  letter  to  you, 
in  which  you  say  '  Even  he  appears  apprehensive  of  danger  from  the 
combined  powers ;  sensible  perhaps  that  we  have  not  acted  towards  some 
of  them  with  Justice  and  good  faith.'  That  our  conduct  has  been  thus 
abominably  unjust  and  perfidious,  they  cannot  fail  to  see :  but  we  are 
too  far  removed  from  their  European  dominions  to  give  them  any  concern 
for  them,  and  as  to  those  of  them  who  have  colonies  in  America,  such  as 
are  insular  are  perfectly  safe  against  any  attempts  from  the  United  States. 
It  is  in  our  power  to  invade  only  the  colonies  of  Great  Britain  and  Spain, 
certainly  Great  Britain  cannot  contemplate  a  new  war  :  with  such  a  dis- 
position she  would  not  have  made  peace  :  and  peace  at  a  time  when  she 
had  an  immense  disposable  force,  naval  and  military  :  such  a  military 
force  as  she  will  probably  never  have  another  occasion  to  bring  forth. 
And  from  Spain  we  have  nothing  to  fear,  her  home  dominion  is  but  a 
little  more  populous  than  the  United  States,  is  miserably  poor  and  feeble, 
under  a  weak  monarch  governed  by  a  rabble  of  Priests,  or  of  nobles  not 
less  contemptable.  While  her  colonies  are  in  all  quarters  in  arms  against 
her,  Spain  will  take  care  not  to  offend  us :  tho'  we  have  outrageously 
injured  and  insulted  her  :  and  this  too  under  her  deepest  distress — while 
oppressed  and  over-run  by  the  armies  of  Bonaparte.  Further,  I  enter- 
tain no  doubt  that  the  maritime  powers  of  Europe,  and  particularly  Great 
Britain,  really  would  rejoice  to  see  Spanish  America  independent  of  the 
mother  country,  and  thus  open  to  the  introduction  of  their  manufactures, 
and  to  their  reception  of  its  rich  productions  in  return. 

"Depend  upon  it,  my  dear  Sir,  when  such  men  as  Jefferson  and 
Madison,  and  their  leading  adherents,  talk  of  danger  from  the  combined 
powers ;  or  from  Britain  and  Spain ;  their  only  object  is  to  excite  an 

198 


HppenMi 

allarm  among  the  people,  and  render  them  patient  under  the  increased 
and  increasing  burthens  of  large  and  unnecessary  military  establishments 
and  expensive  projects. 

"To  the  notices  of  Jefferson's  corruption  from  the  commencement  of 
the  Government  under  the  Constitution,  let  me  add  the  notorious  instance 
of  his  obtaining  the  Presidency  in  preference  to  Burr,*  by  the  lure  of 
offices  to  some  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives  who  held  the 
Votes  of  States.  Claiborne  of  Tennessee  was  appointed  Governor  of  the 
Mississippi  Territory  ;  Linn  was  made  supervisor  of  the  Revenues  in  New 
Jersey,  and  Livingston  was  appointed  District  Attorney  of  New  York,  in 
which  he  had  an  oppertunity  of  embezzling  from  seventy  to  a  hundred 
thousand  dollars  of  the  public  money ;  which  is  not  repaid  to  this  day :  And 
after  Jefferson  had  by  military  violence  dispossessed  him  of  the  Batture  at 
New  Orleans  and  he  petitioned  Congress  to  cause  him  to  be  reinstated — he 
told  Congress  in  his  Petition  or  Memorial,  that  unless  the  Batture  were  re- 
stored, he  should  never  be  able  to  pay  the  money  he  owed  to  the  United 
States  !  What  was  to  be  expected  from  an  Administration  thus  '  con- 
ceived in  sin  and  brought  forth  in  iniquity?'  When  formerly  in  the 
Senate  with  Mr  Giles,  I  remember  saying  to  him,  that  Mr  Jefferson  was  the 
worst  man  (the  author  of  the  most  evil)  in  the  United  States.  He 
ascribed  this  opinion  to  my  prejudice.  But  I  judged  him  by  his  actions, 
which  I  could  not  mistake.  For  a  man  of  Mr  Giles's  very  superior  intel- 
ligence and  sagacity,  he  asked  me  a  very  shallow  question — '  What  motive 
could  Mr  Jefferson  have  to  act  the  character  you  impute  to  him?' — I 
might  ask,  in  reply — What  influenced  Caesar,  &  Cromwell  and  Buona- 
parte, in  their  public  acts  ?  Ambition — with  much  indifference  as  to  the 

*  "  This  is  uncandid  : — The  Federalists  knew  themselves  that  the  People  did  not  vote 
for  Burr  with  any  other  view  but  for  the  vice  Presidency,  tho'  his  majority  of  votes  (acci- 
dental in  most  instances,  and  artfully  given  in  others)  opened  a  view  to  his  ambition  of 
which  he  would  gladly  have  availed  himself,  had  he  seen  a  possibility  of  success.  But 
he  knew  that  his  artful  intrigues  would  not  avail  against  the  expressed  voice  of  the  pub- 
lic. A  Gentleman  of  Congress  with  whom  he  had  held  a  very  tampering  conversation, 
told  him,  after  admitting  some  of  the  Premises  that  he  had  advanced  to  be  true,  '  And 
yet,  Sir,  there  is  one  word  which  will  undo  all  this.'  He  asked  what  word  ?  The 
member  replied  'Usurper,'  and  the  conversation  was  ended." 

199 


Hppenfcii 

means  of  gratifying  it.  What  governed  the  actions  of  a  Borgia  and  a 
Cataline  ?  and  to  descend  from  higher  life,  Why  are  there  any  highway- 
men, thieves  and  robbers  ?  How  much  better  would  all  such  men  have 
consulted  their  ease  and  happiness,  had  they  repressed  their  inordinate 
ambition  and  profusion,  or  forsaking  idleness  and  vice,  have  sought,  what 
they  could  not  fail  of  obtaining,  a  comfortable  subsistence  by  a  course  of 
honest  industry  ? 

"  You  doubtless  know  that  many  enlightened  men,  attentive  observers 
of  public  characters,  entertain  the  same  opinion  of  Mr  Jefferson  that  I 
have  expressed.  Two  of  my  highly  respectable  Friends,  Members  of 
Congress,  lately  told  me,  that  a  year  ago,  or  more,  when  John  Randolph 
was  at  George-town,  he  said,  in  their  presence,  that  Thomas  (or  Tom) 
Jefferson  was  one  of  the  greatest  scoundrels  that  remained  unhung. ' 

"It  is  now  past  eleven  oclock  at  night,  and  I  am  weary  of  writing  this 
inordinately  long  letter,  which  imposes  on  you  such  a  task  to  read,  also  to 
weariness.  The  same  wearisome  length  likewise  forbids  my  taking  a 
copy,  altho'  it  contains  some  details  and  sentiments  which  I  never  before 
committed  to  paper,  and  which  I  would  willingly  keep  by  me ;  to  save  me 
the  trouble  of  future  recollection — or  of  loss  from  forgetfulness. 

"I  have  many  more  things  to  say,  but  which  I  must  omit.  Your 
letter  to  Mr  Jefferson  is  positively  a  severe  satire  on  his  whole  adminis- 
tration. His  appointments  to  office  have  been  in  constant  violation  of 
those  just  principles  which  you  mention  as  proper  to  govern  the  chief 
magistrate;  because  essential  to  the  true  interests  of  his  country.  His 
enquiry  was  not,  who  is  honest,  capable  and  faithful;  but  who  is  most 
industrious  and  influential  in  supporting  my  measures  and  the  interests  of 
my  party  ?  Hence  honest  and  capable  men,  many  of  them  heroes  of  the 
Revolution,  were  turned  out,  to  make  room  for  his  devoted  partisans, 
many  of  them  notoriously  worthless  and  unprincipled.  And  apostates 
were  sure  to  be  rewarded.  He  did  not  remove  all  federalists  at  once — 
this  in  the  beginning  of  his  administration,  would  have  shocked  even 
democracy  itself.  This  course  has  been  dilligently  followed  up  by  his 
successor;  until  not  five,  perhaps  not  two  offices  of  any  consequence 
remain  in  the  hands  of  federalists.  I  can  recollect  indeed  but  one, 
William  Ellery  of  Rhode  Island,  who  was  in  the  old  Congress  with 

200 


Hppenfcii 

Jefferson,  and  signed  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  He  is  Collector 
of  Newport  and  was  long  since  expected  to  die — being  now  about  90 
years  old,  tho'  his  mind  is  still  vigorous.  As  to  the  Emperor  Alexander's 
being  a  Republican  according  to  la  Harpe ;  if  he  means  that  Alexander 
would  wish  to  introduce  a  republican  form  of  Government  into  his  own 
dominions,  the  idea  is  ridiculous.  If  Alexander  ever  supposed  that  his 
mixed  subjects  of  Lords  and  slaves,  and  spreading  over  a  world,  and  com- 
prising various  nations,  could  be  usefully  or  even  at  all  governed  in  the 
form  of  a  Republic,  he  must  be  a  very  weak  man.  But  that  he  consults, 
as  the  Father  of  his  country,  the  real  welfare  of  his  subjects  I  am  inclined 
to  believe :  And  in  this  sense  he  may  be  a  Republican,  conformably  to 
the  original  meaning  of  the  word.  But  with  the  applause  bestowed  on 
'Alexander  the  Deliverer'  (in  which  I  joined  with  my  most  respected 
Friends  and  fellow  citizens)  I  could  not  forget  his  seizing  the  best 
province  of  Sweeden  (Finland)  and  adding  it  to  his  boundless  dominions. 
And  this  too  in  connection  with  the  monster  Buonaparte,  after  the  Peace 
of  Tilsit.  It  was  the  rich  Master  of  a  numerous  flock  seizing  the  poor 
mans  single  ewe-lamb.  At  the  late  general  Peace  that  Province  should 
have  been  restored;  especially  as  the  Sweedish  arms  were  united  with 
those  of  the  great  coalesced  powers  in  reducing  and  expelling  the  tyrant, 
and  placing  them  in  a  condition  to  put  the  injured,  plundered  and  op- 
pressed nations  in  possession  of  their  Rights. 

"Even  the  people  of  our  own  country,  my  dear  sir,  have  not  virtue 
enough  to  maintain  a  Republican  Government.  Proceeding  from  Jeffer- 
son and  Madison  corruption  pervades  every  part  of  it,  our  Elections  are 
no  longer  free.  No  man  who  holds  an  office  or  seeks  for  one,  dare  vote 
but  in  conformity  to  the  views  of  the  administration.  All  public  offices 
are  set  up  for  sale  to  the  best  bidder.  Let  me  be  understood  :  There  are 
two  modes  of  traffic ;  one  in  ready  money ;  one  by  barter.  Candidates 
for  offices  praise  and  support  the  measures  of  the  governing  faction,  right 
or  wrong.  They  are  stump-orators — tavern  and  Beer-house  orators — and 
industrious  electioneering  partisans.  Some  barter  their  consciences  and  all 
their  votes.  The  Election  of  the  President  and  Vice  President  has 
become  a  farce.  The  Constitution  forbids  the  intrusion  of  Members  of 
Congress  as  Electors:  yet  these  very  Members  make  the  president  and 
14  201 


HppenMi 

vice  president.  Turn  your  eye  too  to  the  great  state  of  New  York,  and 
view  the  recent  proceedings  of  her  house  of  Representatives,  where  cor- 
ruption stalked — shamefully  stalked,  in  open  day.  I  refer  to  the  conduct 
of  the  Administration  party  to  secure  to  themselves  the  Council  of  ap- 
pointment. 

"What  then  is  to  be  done?  Give  up  the  Republic  in  despair?  No. 
Resist  the  torrent  altho'  you  cannot  stop  its  course.  You  may  impede, 
tho'  you  cannot  effectually  stay  its  progress  to  destruction.  Our  first 
Magistrate  is  not  the  ruler  of  the  nation,  but  the  Chief  of  a  Party  whose 
interest  is  always  preferred  to  that  of  the  country.  But  a  truce  to  painful 
animadversions.  Without  important  reforms  of  which  I  see  little  pros- 
pect, because  the  defect  is  radical  in  the  fountain  of  power  the  People — 
the  Republic  will  hardly  last  your  day,  or  even  mine — without  a  public 
convulsion— or  a  division  of  the  States.  While  we  live,  however,  '  let  us 
hold  fast  our  integrity,'  and  leave  the  rest  to  Providence. 

"  Sincerely  I  bid  you  Farewell ! 

"  TIMOTHY  PICKERING. 
"GEORGE  LOGAN  ESQR." 


202 


IFnbe* 


¥¥¥ 


Adair,  Mr.,  arrested  on  suspicion  of  having 

given  Franklin  poisoned  wine,  37 
Adams,    President,   93,    102;    change    of 

opinion  regarding  Dr.  Logan's  mission 

to  France,  22, 23 ;  mission  of,  to  France, 

167 

Adams,  Mrs. ,  Jefferson's  opinion  of,  103 
Address  of  citizens  of  Bordeaux  to   Dr. 

Logan,  with  his  reply,  69,  70 
Address  of  Dr.  Logan  to  the  citizens  of  the 

United  States,  giving  an  account  of  his 

mission  to  France,  89-93 
Adet,  M.,  64 
Agricultural  Society  of  Lancaster  County 

formed,  98 ;   of  Philadelphia,  members 

of,  at  Stenton,  43 

Alien  and  Sedition  Law  passed,  72 
Almy,  Captain,  90 

Banks,  Sir  Joseph,  Dr.  Logan  meets,  173 

Barclay,  David,  34,  90 

Barclay,  Sir  Robert,  Dr.  Logan  breakfasts 
with,  173 

Barlow,  Mr.,  to  General  Washington  re- 
garding peace  treaty,  22 

Betton,  Dr.  Samuel,  Sr.,  74 

Blockades,  repeal  of,  demanded,  172 

Bordeaux,  address  of  citizens  of,  to  Dr. 
Logan,  with  his  reply,  69,  70 

Brannagan,  Thomas,  107 

British  debts,  payment  of,  196 

Burr,  Aaron,  199 

Canada,  proposed  invasion  of,  186,  197 

Cannassetego,  Onondaga  chief,  quoted  re- 
garding James  Logan,  29 

Canning,  Mr.,  168 

Charleston,  S.  C.,  refugees  from,  entertained 
in  Philadelphia,  1780,  12 


Claibome,  ,  Governor  of  Mississippi 

Territory,  199 

Clarkson, ,  173 

Clinton,  Sir  Henry,  Charleston  surren- 
dered to,  1780,  12 

Clymer,  George,  78 

Coin,  bill  introduced  by  Dr.  Logan  for 
punishment  of  persons  counterfeiting, 

159 

Coke,  Thomas  William,  to  Dr.  Logan,  175  ; 
Dr.  Logan  to,  177 

Commerce  in  1798,  18,  19 

Commercial  warfare,  Dr.  Logan  on,  182 

Commissioners  sent  to  France  to  negotiate 
a  treaty,  19 

Congress,  act  of,  to  prevent  individual  in- 
terference in  foreign  governments,  99  ; 
passes  Logan's  law,  87,  99 

Constitution  of  the  United  States,  Dr. 
Logan's  views  regarding,  132 

Currie,  Dr.,  of  Liverpool,  34 

Darby,  Mr.,  Dr.  Logan  breakfasts  with,  173 

Darwin,  Dr.,  death  of  son  of,  34,  35 

Dashkoff,  Mr.,  189,  190 

Dickinson,  John,  26,  27,  74 ;  and  wife,  gift 
of,  for  seminary,  24 ;  death  of,  115  ;  Fair- 
hill,  residence  of,  burned,  40,  41 ;  letters 
of,  146,  147 

Domestic  manufactures  encouraged,  44 

D'Onis,  Mr.,  171 

Dudley,  Theodorick  Bland,  181 

Duponceau,  Peter  S.,  a  guest  at  Stenton, 
29 ;  president  of  Historical  Society  of 
Pennsylvania,  29 

Education,  public;  Dr.  Logan  in  favour  of, 

24,47 
Elections ;  corruption  in,  201 


203 


Unfcer 


Ellery,  William,  200 

Embargo,   Jefferson's,  197 ;   on  American 

shipping  in  French  ports,  64,  89 ;  raised, 

23,  67,  91 
Emlen,    George,   32;     Hannah,    marries 

William  Logan,  32 
England,  affairs  in,  stated  by  Dr.  Logan, 

137,  138,  139 

Erskine,  Mr.,  disavowal  of,  by  England, 
168 

Fairhill  burned  by  British  army,  40,  41 

Fisher,  Thomas,  74 

Fitzsimmons,  Thomas,  78,  79 

Fothergill,  Dr.,  34,  90 

Fowler,  Dr.,  death  of,  at  Edinburgh,  34, 35 

Fox,  Dr.,  of  Falmouth,  34 

Franklin,  Dr.,  38,  39;  criticises  Smith's 
"  Wealth  of  Nations,"  46,  47  ;  kindness 
of,  to  Dr.  Logan,  in  Paris,  36,  37 

Franklin,  Temple,  130 

French  complain  of  our  trade  with  St.  Do- 
mingo, ill;  prisoners,  treatment  of,  in 
the  United  States,  68;  Revolution,  51, 

52 

Freneau,  Philip,  Jefferson's  connection 
with  Gazette  of,  193 

Gallatin  appointed  Secretary  of  Treasury, 

194 

Galloway,  Joseph,  41 
Genealogical  table  of  descendants  of  James 

Logan,  127 
Genet,  Mr.,  French   Minister,   arrives  in 

America,  15  ;  at  Stenton,  53  ;  and  Jef- 
ferson, 53,  54 
Gerry,  Elbridge,  Commissioner  to  France, 

19,  20, 21 ;  not  at  Paris  when  Dr.  Logan 

arrives,  63 
Ghent,  Treaty  at,  119 

Giles, ,  199 

Great  Britain,  policy  of,  towards  the  United 

States,  167,  168,  170 

Hamilton,    General,    difference   of,  with 

James  Monroe,  97 
Harper,   Robert  Goodloe,  criminates   Dr. 

Logan's  conduct,  100 


Henry,  Patrick,  quoted  regarding  Jefferson, 
192 

Indians  at  Stenton,  29 
"  Iris,"  Dr.  Logan  goes  to  France  aboard, 
57 

Jay,  John,  mission  of,  167,  195 

Jay's  treaty,  19,  194,  195 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  in,  112,  113, 114,  191, 
192 ;  approves  Dr.  Logan's  visit  to 
France,  137;  certificate  of  citizenship 
given  to  Dr.  Logan  by,  56  ;  Congress  dis- 
approves measures  of,  109,  no;  con- 
nection of,  with  the  National  Gazette, 
193;  dress  of,  50;  embargo  of,  197; 
feelings  of,  towards  Washington,  50,  51 ; 
in  favour  of  war,  8 1 ;  intimacy  of,  with 
President  Adams,  101,  102 ;  John  Ran- 
dolph's opinion  of,  200 ;  letter  to  Dr. 
Logan  from,  regarding  slaves,  107 ; 
same  to  same,  concerning  war  of  1812, 
135-137 ;  measures  of,  criticised,  197, 
198,  199;  not  in  favour  of  treaty  with 
England,  171  ;  public  feeling  towards, 
75 ;  receives  Dr.  Logan,  85 ;  schemes  of, 
to  obtain  Presidency,  196,  199;  visits  at 
Stenton,  50,  53  ;  visits  Mrs.  Logan,  75 

Jenifer,  Daniel,  accompanies  Washington 
to  Stenton,  44,  45 

Kosciusko  meets  Dr.  Logan,  65 

Lafayette  assists  Dr.  Logan  to  reach  Paris, 
63,  89;  Dr.  Logan  visits  and  explains 
his  mission  to,  62  ;  Madame  de,  62 

Lepeaux,  Citizen,  letter  from  Dr.  Logan  to, 

133,  134 
Le  Tomb,  57 
Linn,  199 
Livingston,  District  Attorney  of  New  York, 

money  embezzled  by,  199 
Logan  Act,  The,  164 
Logan,  Mrs.  Deborah  Norris,  life  of  Dr. 

George  Logan  by,  9, 10 ;  marriage  of,  1 1 
Logan,  Miss  Frances  Armatt,  provides  for 

completion    of   "Life    of    Dr.   George 

Logan,"  9 


204 


Logan,  Dr.  George,  address  of,  to  the  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States,  giving  an  ac- 
count of  his  mission  to  France,  89-93  > 
apprenticed  to  John  Reynell,  merchant 
in  Philadelphia ;  32  ;  at  Bristol,  84 ;  at 
Dover,  61 ;  at  Edinburgh,  34,  35 ;  at 
Hamburg,  61 ;  at  Lancaster,  98 ;  at 
Paris,  89  ;  at  Philadelphia,  85 ;  bill  for 
punishment  of  persons  counterfeiting 
current  coin  introduced  by,  159;  birth 
of,  31 ;  certificates  of  citizenship  given 
to,  56  ;  death  of,  IO,  30, 1 20;  declines  a 
re-election  to  the  Senate,  115  ;  doings  of, 
while  in  London,  1810, 173  ;  early  life  of, 
in  Europe,  12  ;  elected  to  the  Assembly, 
13,  46,  97  ;  elected  Senator,  1802,  9,  24, 
100 ;  fondness  for  agriculture,  43  ;  goes 
to  England,  1810,  hoping  to  avert  war, 
25,  171 ;  in  favour  of  public  education, 
24;  interest  of,  in  political  reform,  13; 
interview  of,  with  Merlin,  65,  66,  67  ; 
interview  of,  with  Colonel  Pickering,  86  ; 
leader  of  anti-Federal  party,  9 ;  leaves 
Paris  for  Bordeaux,  68  ;  marriage  of,  1 1 , 
42;  member  of  the  Republican  party » 
16 ;  mission  of,  to  England  opposed  by 
United  States  Minister,  116,  117  ;  not  in 
favour  of  manufactures  in  this  country, 
24 ;  obtains  his  degree  and  leaves  Edin- 
burgh for  London  and  Paris,  35,  36 ; 
opposed  to  soldiers  under  arms  voting, 
24;  opposed  to  turnpike  road  between 
Philadelphia  and  Lancaster,  24;  oppo- 
sition to  mission  of,  59,  60;  plan  of  a 
reconciliation  with  England,  143;  Presi- 
dent Madison  favours  mission  of,  Il6; 
reasons  of,  for  going  to  France,  1 29 ;  re- 
ceived by  distinguished  men  in  England, 
117 ;  received  by  President  Jefferson,  85  ; 
receives  and  answers  an  address  from 
the  citizens  of  Bordeaux,  69,  70;  retires 
from  public  life,  26,  27  ;  returns  to  Amer- 
ica, 1779  or  1780,  36,  42;  returns  to 
England  to  study  medicine,  33 ;  returns 
to  Stenton  from  France,  1798,  23,  83, 
84 ;  returns  to  Stenton  from  England, 
eleventh  month  5,  1810,  119,  177  ;  sails 
for  France  aboard  the  "Iris,"  57;  sails 


for  Philadelphia  aboard  the  "  Persever- 
ance," 79 ;  sent  to  England  to  be  edu- 
cated, 32;  to  his  wife,  71,  79,  173;  to 
Thomas  William  Coke,  177  ;  to  Jefier- 
son,  109,  no;  with  reply,  137-144;  to 
Citizen  Lepeaux,  133,  134;  to  President 
Madison,  165,  181,  182,  186,  187  ;  to 
Merlin,  129-131 ;  to  James  Monroe, 
185;  to  John  Nicholls,  179;  to  Hon. 
Spencer  Perceval,  1 75  ;  to  Schimmelpen- 
ninck,  132,  133;  to  Sir  John  Sinclair, 
178;  to  Marquis  Wellesley,  179  ;  urges 
the  suspension  of  the  Orders  in  Coun- 
cil, 172;  views  of,  regarding  affairs  in 
England,  137,  138,  139;  visits  Lafayette, 
62;  visits  Merlin,  91;  visits  M.  Schim- 
melpenninck,  65  ;  visits  Talleyrand,  64 ; 
volunteer  mission  of,  to  France,  and 
abuse  of,  20,  21,  54,  55  ;  waits  on  Gen- 
eral Washington,  86 
Logan,  Gustavus,  death  of,  100 
Logan,  James,  32;  at  Stenton,  78;  genea- 
logical table  of  descendants  of,  127 ; 
library  of,  13 ;  Stenton  built  by,  27,  29 
Logan,  William,  Sr.,  31  ;  married  Hannah 

Emlen,  32 ;  death  of,  40 
Logan,  Dr.  William,  Jr.,  33 
Logan,  Dr.  William,  Sr.,  library  of,  33 
Logan's  Law  passed  by  Congress,  87,  99 
Louisiana,  Dickinson  on  admission  of,  149 ; 
our  claims  in,  153 

McKean,  Thomas,  certificate  of  citizen- 
ship given  to  Dr.  Logan  by,  56 

Macon's  bill,  178 

Madison,  James,  196,  197,  198;  corres- 
pondence between  Dr.  Logan  and,  165 ; 
Dr.  Logan  to,  181,  182 ;  same  to  the 
same,  urging  peace  with  England,  1 86, 
I87 

Manufactures  in  homes  encouraged  by  Dr. 
Logan,  98 

Marshall,  John,  93 ;  Commissioner  to 
France,  19;  Chief  Justice,  154 

Martinent,   Mr.,   Dr.    Logan    dines   with, 

173 

Mason,  Stephens  Thompson,  196 
Mercer,  John  Francis,  194 


205 


Merlin,  57 ;  letter  from  Dr.  Logan  to,  129  ; 

receives  Dr.  Logan,  65,  66,  67,  91 
Militia  Bill,  156 
Militia,  John  Dickinson  in  favor  of,  146, 

148,  163 
Mint  in  Baltimore  for  coinage  of  Portuguese 

money,  159 
Monroe,  James,   196;    difference  of,  with 

General  Hamilton,  97 ;    Dr.  Logan  to, 

185 ;  in  favour  of  war,  195  ;  reception  of, 

on  his  return  from  France,  97  ;  treaty  of, 

1 66 

Muhlenberg,  Henry,  98 
Muhlenberg,  General  Peter,  succeeded  by 

Dr.  Logan  as  Senator,  25,  101 
Mullett,  Thomas,  to  Mrs.  Logan,  73 

National    Gazette,   Jefferson's  connection 

with  and  object  of,  193 
Nemours,  Dnpont  de,  a  guest  at  Stenton, 

29 

Nicholls,  John,  Dr.  Logan  to,  179 
Non-intercourse  Act,  178, 197 
Norris,  Charles,  II 

Parliament  desires  peace  with  the  United 

States,  173 
Parry,  Dr.,  34 
Penn-Logan  Correspondence  prepared  by 

Mrs.  Logan,  II 
Perceval,  Hon.  Spencer,  Dr.   Logan  to, 

175 

"  Perseverance,"     Dr.     Logan    sails     for 
Philadelphia  aboard,  79 ;  mentioned,  83 
Pickering,    Colonel    Timothy,    113;    de- 
spatches from  Vans  Murray  to,  94,  95 ; 
guest  at  Stenton,  30 ;    interview  of  Dr. 
Logan  with,  86;    opinion  of  Jefferson 
and  his  policy,  200,  201 
Pinckney,   General   Charles  C.,  93,    168; 
at   Stenton,    12,  42 ;    Commissioner  to 
France,  19;    negotiation  between  Mar- 
quis Wellesley  and,  178;    receives  Dr. 
Logan  at  Bristol,  84 
Pinckney,  Thomas,  at  Stenton,  12,  42 
Political  feeling  towards  the  Logans,  75 
Price,  Dr.,  criticises  Smith's  "Wealth  of 
Nations,"  47 


Privateering,  Dr.  Logan  opposed  to,  134 
Proud,    Robert,    Historian,   instructs    Dr. 

George  Logan  in  Latin,  32 
Public  opinion,  change  in,  regarding  Dr. 

Logan,  87 

Randolph,  John,  of  Roanoke,  a  guest  at 
Stenton,  30;  his  opinion  of  Jefferson, 
200 ;  to  Dr.  Logan,  180 

Republican  party,  disunion  in,  106 

Rush,  Dr.,  59 

Russel, ,  136 

Russian  mediation,  1813,  189 

Rutledge,  Governor  Edward,  at  Stenton, 
12,42 

St.  Domingo,  French  complain  of  our 
trade  with,  in;  John  Dickinson  op- 
posed to  our  trade  with,  154,  155,  156 

Schimmelpenninck,  M.,93;  introduces  Dr. 
Logan  to  Merlin,  65;  letter  from  Dr. 
Logan  to,  132,  133 

Seamen,    impressment    of,    by    England, 

135 

Sidmouth,  Lord,  Dr.  Logan  meets,  173 

Simms,  Dr.,  of  Essex,  Dr.  Logan  boards 
with,  34 

Sinclair,  Sir  John,  Dr.  Logan  to,  172, 
I78 

Skipwith,  Mr.,  91 

Slaves,  Jefferson's  views  regarding,  107 

Small-pox,  a  case  of,  at  Stenton,  47,  49. 

Smith,  Adam,  "  Wealth  of  Nations,"  by 
46 

Smyth,  Chief  Justice  Frederick  Augustus, 
74,78 

Spain,  our  controversies  with,  160,  161. 

Stenton,  account  of,  27-29 ;  condition  of, 
in  1779,  12,  40,  41 ;  notable  guests  at, 
29»  3O  >  visited  by  British,  40,  41 

Sumter,  General,  senator  from  South  Car- 
olina, 145 

Talleyrand,  57,  62,  64 

Taxes,  internal,  Madison  in  favour  of,  190, 

191 
Taylor,   George,    translator    for  National 

Gazette,  193 


206 


Infcei 


Thomas,  Governor  George,  treaty  of,  with 

Six  Nations,  1742,  29 
Thomson,  Charles,  39 
Thornton,   Mr.,   Dr.   Logan    dines    with, 

173 
Treaty  of  Friendship  and  Commerce  with 

England,  Dr.  Logan  favours,  167,  171  ; 

of  1783,  194 
Turreau,  Mr.,  Ill 
Twisleton,  Colonel,  40 

Vans  Murray,  minister  at  The  Hague,  93, 

94 

Vaughan,  John,  74 
Verses  in  memory  of  Dr.  Logan,  123-126 

Walsh,  Robert,  a  guest  at  Stenton,  29 

Warren,  Admiral,  136 

War  with  Great  Britain,  desire  to  avoid, 

ill 


Washington,  General,  Dr.  Logan  visits,  86; 
John  Dickinson's  opinion  of,  155  ;  visits 
Dr.  Logan  at  Stenton,  44,  45 

Washington,  President,  and  Jay's  treaty 
185,  195,  196;  issues  proclamation  of 
neutrality,  April,  1793,  15 

Wellesley,  Marquis  of,  Dr.  Logan's  inter- 
view with,  119;  letter  to,  179;  negotia- 
tion between  Mr.  Pinkney  and,  178 

Wilberforce,   Dr.  Logan  breakfasts  with, 

173 

Wister,  Mrs.  Sarah  Butler,  Stenton  de- 
scribed by,  28 

Woodward,  Major,  brings  despatches  from 
France  to  the  United  States,  92 

Yellow  fever  in  Philadelphia  and  vicinity, 

1798,76,77 

Yrujo,  De  Casa,  notified  to  leave  the  United 
States,  III 


THE  END 


207 


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